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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 120 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 · bark · root · drill · bulb · cell · swing · march

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. drill — a practice
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. march — the month
  5. root — the cause
  6. march — the month
  7. root — of a word
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cell — a phone
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. drill — the tool
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. drill — army training
  17. march — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. root — of a plant
  24. swing — in golf

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