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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. lean — thin
  8. bulb — for light
  9. degree — from a university
  10. track — a song
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. track — a path
  13. spring — of water
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — to keep track
  19. degree — temperature
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. spring — a coil
  22. spring — the season
  23. bark — of a tree
  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