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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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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: kick · bark · club · present · patient · sharp · wave · file

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  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. present — a gift
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. bark — to shout
  4. club — for golf
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. file — a tool
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. club — a group
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. file — a document
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kick — in football
  17. club — for dancing
  18. sharp — clever
  19. file — a line of people
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wave — with your hand
  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