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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rule — government
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. rule — a law
  6. ball — a great time
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. shower — to wash
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. bulb — for light
  15. mine — for digging
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. kid — child
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a dance
  24. bark — of a tree

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