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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bark — to shout
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. club — a group
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. club — for dancing
  17. chest — a box
  18. club — for golf

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