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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. root — the cause
  3. club — a group
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. shower — to wash
  7. roll — a list
  8. roll — a cake
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. root — of a word
  12. root — of a plant
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bark — to shout
  15. club — for golf
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. shower — rain
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. club — for dancing
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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