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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: wind · craft · content · patient · mate · kid · bark · prune

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. kid — child
  3. content — the amount
  4. kid — to tease
  5. content — happy
  6. mate — to breed
  7. craft — a skill
  8. bark — to shout
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. mate — a partner
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — boats
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. mate — a friend
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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