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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. root — the cause
  6. mine — for digging
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. root — of a plant
  10. plane — a tool
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. staff — a stick
  13. row — to paddle
  14. root — of a word
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — to shout
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — a line
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. staff — employees
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. mine — belonging to me

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