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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: trunk · patient · arm · ball · pass · bark · file · degree

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bark — to shout
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. degree — temperature
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. file — a document
  8. degree — from a university
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a tool
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. ball — a great time
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. ball — a dance
  20. degree — an amount
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. file — a line of people

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