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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 124 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 captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pound — a weight
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. chest — a box
  9. game — a match
  10. net — after costs
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. game — wild animals
  18. net — in sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. board — a committee
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. net — for catching
  24. patient — a sick person

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