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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. present — a gift
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. rash — hasty
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bark — to shout
  14. band — a music group
  15. present — there
  16. band — a ring
  17. stock — shares
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. rash — a series
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. present — the time now
  24. lean — to bend

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