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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. bark — to shout
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. cold — not warm
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. lean — thin
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bore — to tire
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bore — to drill
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cold — an illness
  19. vault — a safe
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. season — of the year
  22. stem — to come from
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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