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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. kid — child
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. rest — what's left
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. plane — a tool
  12. row — to paddle
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. kid — to tease
  16. rest — what's left
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. land — to come down
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. row — a line
  23. land — a country
  24. rest — a break

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