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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: kid · shower · stick · track · bulb · hide · patient · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. track — to keep track
  5. kid — child
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. bulb — for light
  8. snap — to click
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — rain
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. track — a song
  13. shower — to wash
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. bulb — for light
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. track — a path
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. kid — to tease

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