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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. scale — in music
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. scale — size or range
  10. kid — to tease
  11. capital — a city
  12. staff — a stick
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. capital — money
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. staff — employees
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bark — to shout

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