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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — the most important part
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. shower — rain
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — of ice
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. cap — a lid
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bark — to shout
  15. craft — boats
  16. craft — a skill
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. key — in music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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