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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 120 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bark — to shout
  4. present — there
  5. chest — of your body
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. chest — a box
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. game — wild animals
  15. snap — to click
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. game — a match
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. present — a gift
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. present — the time now

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