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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 124 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 is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. plane — a tool
  11. track — a path
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. branch — a division
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. bark — to shout

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