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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bear — the animal
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. snap — to click
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. mine — for digging
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. dip — to sink
  16. bear — the animal
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. row — to paddle

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