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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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mug — a face
  4. mug — a cup
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. shower — to wash
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. sharp — clever
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. shower — rain
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. mug — to rob
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bark — to shout
  21. foot — a measure
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. foot — the bottom

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