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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bark — to shout
  6. club — for golf
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. march — the month
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. club — a group
  12. saw — the tool
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. wound — an injury
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. dip — to sink
  20. saw — the tool
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. dip — a sauce

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