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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bark — to shout
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. net — for catching
  6. capital — money
  7. field — for sport
  8. net — in sport
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. snap — to click
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. net — after costs
  15. rule — a law
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rule — government
  19. capital — a city
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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