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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: hide · fall · kick · stick · current · patient · club · bark

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bark — to shout
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. fall — to drop
  7. club — a group
  8. kick — in football
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. fall — the season
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fall — to drop
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. current — electric
  19. club — for golf
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. club — for dancing
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — with a leg

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