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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. degree — an amount
  4. bark — to shout
  5. spell — a short time
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. spell — magic
  8. vault — a safe
  9. current — electric
  10. wax — to grow
  11. current — of water
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — letters
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. degree — from a university
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. degree — temperature
  18. current — happening now
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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