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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. net — after costs
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tube — a container
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. stem — to come from
  17. net — for catching
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. net — in sport
  20. rash — a series
  21. tube — the underground
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. coach — a trainer

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