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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.

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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: object · row · bore · land · patient · bark · season · swing

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. land — ground
  4. object — to protest
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bark — to shout
  10. swing — in golf
  11. object — a thing
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. swing — to play on
  15. bore — to tire
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bore — to drill
  19. season — of the year
  20. land — a country
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. object — an aim
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. swing — music

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