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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tube — the underground
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tube — a container
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bark — to shout
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — final
  14. object — an aim
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. spring — of water
  17. last — finally
  18. spring — the season
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. dip — to sink
  22. last — to go on
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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