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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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Word bank
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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 · clip · cold · pit · bore · bulb · dip · bark

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. clip — a video
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. pit — a hole
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bulb — for light

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