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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. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. cue — a hint
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. wax — to grow
  7. tube — a container
  8. cue — a signal
  9. tube — the underground
  10. row — to paddle
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. row — a line
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bound — certain
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. cold — not warm

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