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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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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: racket · cold · bay · bark · leaves · chest · saw · patient

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. saw — the tool
  3. chest — of your body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. chest — a box
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — an illness

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