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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. bore — to tire
  3. band — a music group
  4. kid — to tease
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a ring
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. firm — decided
  13. firm — a company
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. stem — to come from
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — child
  23. bark — of a tree
  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