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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · clip · bark · patient · kid · rash · chip · firm

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rash — a series
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rash — hasty
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. chip — for betting
  13. clip — a video
  14. firm — a company
  15. wake — a trail
  16. firm — decided
  17. clip — for paper
  18. bark — to shout
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. kid — child
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. firm — steady

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