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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. swing — to play on
  3. degree — from a university
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. face — to point toward
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fine — all right
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. face — part of the head
  12. face — to confront
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. swing — music
  15. tube — a container
  16. foot — a measure
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. tube — the underground
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. degree — an amount
  21. degree — temperature
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. fine — high quality

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