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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. game — a match
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cap — a lid
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. cap — a hat
  14. kid — child
  15. game — wild animals
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cap — of ice
  23. foot — a measure
  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