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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. bark — to shout
  3. season — of the year
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — of water
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spring — a coil
  9. root — the cause
  10. season — in sport
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. root — of a word
  13. spring — the season
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. root — of a plant
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. file — a document
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. snap — to click
  23. file — a tool
  24. wax — to grow

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com