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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. march — music
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. bark — to shout
  10. row — a line
  11. bank — of a river
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bank — for money
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. row — to paddle
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bank — for money
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. content — the amount
  23. march — the month
  24. patient — a sick person

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