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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · jam · mine · bark · court · shower · net · stick

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. court — for sport
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. net — in sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. court — of law
  9. shower — rain
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. court — of a king
  12. net — for catching
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. net — after costs
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. bark — to shout
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — for digging

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