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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: stick · patient · bark · pop · kid · wound · prune · chip

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  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. bark — of a tree
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pop — soda
  8. kid — child
  9. wound — an injury
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wound — an injury
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. pop — music
  21. bark — to shout
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  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