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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: patient · shower · land · rule · face · current · kick · clip

  1. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. face — part of the head
  2. clip — to cut
  3. shower — rain
  4. face — to confront
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — to come down
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. kick — in football
  11. current — of water
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. land — a country
  15. rule — a law
  16. current — electric
  17. rule — government
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. land — ground
  20. current — happening now
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. face — to point toward
  24. shower — to wash

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