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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: shower · ruler · rule · chip · patient · pound

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. chip — to eat
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. shower — to wash
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. chip — for betting
  11. rule — government
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. shower — rain
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. pound — a weight

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