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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. pit — a hole
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. bat — the animal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. saw — the tool
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bark — to shout
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pit — in a race
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. root — of a word
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. root — the cause
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. root — of a plant

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