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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. net — for catching
  8. stand — to bear
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. net — after costs
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — clever
  14. net — in sport
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. patient — a sick person
  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