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

Word bank: kick · tube · wave · patient · file · perch · chair · bark

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. file — a document
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. file — a tool
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — a container
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — in football
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. bark — to shout
  24. perch — the fish

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