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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. ground — crushed
  2. current — of water
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. game — a match
  7. ground — a position
  8. march — the month
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — wild animals
  11. root — of a plant
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. ground — the earth
  14. current — electric
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. root — the cause
  17. march — music
  18. current — happening now
  19. root — of a word
  20. march — the month
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  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