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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · cold · suit · wind · bear · bark

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bark — to shout
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — in cards
  10. suit — to fit
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cold — not warm

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