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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.

Make a worksheet

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: patient · rush · land · bear · cap · kid · game · bark

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. bear — the animal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. game — wild animals
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. cap — a lid
  9. rush — hurry
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. land — a country
  14. land — ground
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kid — to tease
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bark — to shout
  21. land — to come down
  22. kid — child
  23. bear — the animal
  24. cap — of ice

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