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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. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. net — in sport
  3. root — of a plant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — an injury
  6. root — of a word
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kid — child
  9. kid — to tease
  10. net — for catching
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. date — the fruit
  15. net — after costs
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. root — the cause
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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