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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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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: drill · lean · patient · rock · cell · content · bark · bulb

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — a phone
  5. content — happy
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. drill — a practice
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. bulb — for light
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. bark — to shout
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. drill — army training
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. content — the amount
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. lean — to bend
  20. rock — a stone
  21. lean — thin
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bulb — for light

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