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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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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 · vault · saw · hide · field · bark · straw · lash

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bark — to shout
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. field — farmland
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. vault — a safe
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. saw — the tool
  21. vault — in gymnastics
  22. field — for sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. patient — a sick person

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