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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: plane · bear · patient · kid · pit · fall · spell · bark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. fall — to drop
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bear — the animal
  11. plane — a tool
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pit — in a race
  14. kid — child
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — the season
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — to tease
  22. pit — a hole
  23. spell — letters
  24. patient — a sick person

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