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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. content — the amount
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. kid — to tease
  10. chip — to eat
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. prune — to trim
  13. pitch — completely
  14. object — a thing
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. object — an aim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. kid — child
  19. object — to protest
  20. bark — to shout
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chip — for betting
  23. content — happy
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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