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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lie — to recline
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bark — to shout
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — help
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. band — a music group
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — a weight
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. mine — belonging to me

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