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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 116 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: wave · court · content · degree · kid · bark · patient · safe

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. kid — child
  4. content — happy
  5. bark — to shout
  6. court — of a king
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. content — the amount
  16. degree — from a university
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. degree — an amount
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — to tease
  23. court — of law
  24. court — for sport

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