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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 116 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: patient · mine · track · drill · bay · bark · clip · bowl

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bark — to shout
  7. clip — a video
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. clip — to cut
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. drill — army training
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. track — a path
  19. drill — a practice
  20. track — a song
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. mine — for digging
  23. clip — for paper
  24. mine — an explosive

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