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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Is it ________________ for us to be here?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. spell — a short time
  9. date — the fruit
  10. content — the amount
  11. spell — magic
  12. spell — letters
  13. bark — to shout
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. rash — hasty
  16. branch — a division
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — a series
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. safe — out of danger

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