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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. march — the month
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. mark — a grade
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. rash — a series
  13. clip — for paper
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — to cut
  19. march — music
  20. bark — to shout
  21. clip — a video
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. trunk — 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