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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. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. march — the month
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spring — a coil
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rash — a series
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — certain
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. march — music
  14. spring — the season
  15. rash — hasty
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bark — to shout
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. spring — of water
  24. bound — tied together

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