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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · bark · row · band · content · rock · hide · patient

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. content — the amount
  4. band — a music group
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rock — music
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bark — to shout
  15. content — happy
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. rock — a stone
  18. row — to paddle
  19. band — a ring
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. row — a line
  24. hide — to keep secret

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