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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — to shout
  4. press — to push
  5. craft — a skill
  6. press — newspapers
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. press — a publisher
  9. ball — a great time
  10. clip — for paper
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fine — high quality
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. clip — a video
  18. craft — boats
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. mine — for digging
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. ball — a dance
  24. mine — an explosive

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