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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. season — of the year
  5. rock — music
  6. season — in sport
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. rock — a stone
  15. roll — a list
  16. mine — for digging
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. roll — a cake
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. branch — a division

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