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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. staff — a stick
  7. content — the amount
  8. mine — for digging
  9. staff — employees
  10. spring — the season
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — the month
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bark — to shout
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — music
  22. staff — employees
  23. content — happy
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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