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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 120 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: bark · patient · rock · pitch · pound · wave · lie · cold

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rock — music
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. bark — to shout
  12. pitch — completely
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. lie — to recline
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rock — a stone
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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