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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lean — to bend
  6. lean — thin
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. hand — in cards
  9. charge — electricity
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. charge — in control
  13. scale — in music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bark — to shout
  17. scale — size or range
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. charge — a price
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. kid — child
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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