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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: bound · chest · date · staff · patient · ground · bark · tube

  1. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — obliged
  2. staff — employees
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bound — tied together
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bound — certain
  9. ground — the earth
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — the underground
  12. ground — a position
  13. date — the fruit
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. staff — a stick
  17. chest — of your body
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. tube — a container
  24. staff — employees

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