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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. fork — in a road
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. squash — to crush
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bass — low music
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bark — to shout
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. tear — from crying
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. bass — the fish
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. tear — from crying

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