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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: mouse · spring · branch · bark · kick · hand · wound · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. bark — to shout
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — help
  12. kick — in football
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — the season

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