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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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — child
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. row — to paddle
  15. object — an aim
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. spell — a short time
  19. pitch — completely
  20. chair — a leader
  21. kid — to tease
  22. object — to protest
  23. spell — letters
  24. object — a thing

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