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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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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: patient · ball · race · present · kid · racket · lean · bark

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — child
  3. present — there
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ball — a dance
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. race — a contest
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. lean — thin
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. lean — to bend
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ball — a great time
  20. race — humankind
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. racket — for tennis

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