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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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — to handle
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bulb — for light
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bulb — for light
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. pound — a weight
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. deal — an agreement

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