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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. saw — past of 'see'
  2. craft — boats
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. craft — a skill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. present — a gift
  12. saw — the tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. rush — hurry
  15. row — to paddle
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. present — there
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. saw — the tool
  22. present — the time now
  23. row — a line
  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