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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rash — hasty
  4. root — the cause
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. plane — a tool
  7. row — to paddle
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bark — to shout
  11. root — of a plant
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. kid — child
  19. row — a line
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. root — of a word
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rash — a series
  24. plane — an aircraft

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