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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. scale — in music
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. perch — the fish
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — government
  13. lean — thin
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bark — to shout
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — a weight
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. lean — to bend
  23. scale — size or range
  24. perch — for a bird

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