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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hand — help
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. rock — music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chair — a leader
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — part of the body

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