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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a music group
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. charge — electricity
  8. degree — from a university
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. march — music
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. degree — temperature
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. charge — a price
  15. plane — a tool
  16. charge — in control
  17. bark — to shout
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. degree — an amount
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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