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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: leaves · field · mine · tube · patient · bark · hide · mark

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. field — farmland
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. mine — for digging
  12. tube — the underground
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. tube — a container
  18. mark — a grade
  19. field — for sport
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. mark — a trace
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. field — a subject

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