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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: wound · ball · toast · patient · cell · bark · board · kid

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. kid — child
  10. toast — bread
  11. ball — a dance
  12. ball — a great time
  13. bark — to shout
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cell — a phone
  16. kid — to tease
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cell — in biology
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. board — a committee
  22. board — to get on
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ball — a round shape

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