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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. tube — a container
  3. court — for sport
  4. bark — to shout
  5. tube — the underground
  6. field — a subject
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — for sport
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. field — farmland
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. court — of a king
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bat — the animal
  22. staff — employees
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. court — of law

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