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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. face — to confront
  9. pit — a hole
  10. face — to point toward
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pit — in a race
  16. net — after costs
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bark — to shout
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. net — for catching
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — music
  24. face — part of the head

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