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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: bark · bank · rule · content · mate · patient

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rule — government
  3. content — happy
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. content — the amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mate — to breed
  10. bank — for money
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bank — of a river
  15. mate — a friend
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rule — a law
  18. patient — a sick person

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