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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 120 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. bark — to shout
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. shower — rain
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. hand — help
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. fork — in a road
  14. mine — for digging
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. hand — in cards
  17. deal — to handle
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. leaves — of a tree

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