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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. sharp — clever
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. scale — in music
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. scale — size or range
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. cue — a signal
  14. cap — a hat
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a lid
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bass — low music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. cap — of ice
  24. bass — the instrument

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