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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  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. tube — a container
  2. bark — to shout
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. game — a match
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. tube — the underground
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. march — the month
  13. game — wild animals
  14. scale — size or range
  15. march — the month
  16. rush — hurry
  17. march — music
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. scale — in music
  23. rush — a thrill
  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