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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: lie · calf · ground · kid · bark · clip · patient · racket

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bark — to shout
  4. clip — to cut
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. ground — a position
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. clip — a video
  17. ground — crushed
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. lie — an untruth

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