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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 120 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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. row — to paddle
  6. vault — a safe
  7. field — farmland
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. bark — to shout
  10. mate — to breed
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mate — a friend
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. field — a subject
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. row — a line
  19. mine — for digging
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. field — for sport

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