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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. capital — a city
  8. root — the cause
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. pass — a permit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. capital — money
  14. prune — to trim
  15. root — of a plant
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — rain
  20. root — of a word
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bark — 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