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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: bark · drill · hide · patient · race · squash · stock · bat

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. race — humankind
  5. squash — to crush
  6. stock — goods
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. stock — shares
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bat — the animal
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. drill — the tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — a practice
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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