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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mark — a trace
  4. roll — a list
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. mark — a grade
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. roll — a cake
  13. branch — a division
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — to shout
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cell — in biology
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pound — a weight
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pound — to hit hard

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