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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 116 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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bark — to shout
  5. degree — from a university
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. degree — temperature
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. cell — a phone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. object — to protest
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. degree — an amount
  17. stock — shares
  18. object — an aim
  19. cell — in biology
  20. object — a thing
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stock — goods

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