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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: wake · patient · bark · field · bank · chest · squash · rash

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bark — to shout
  4. wake — a trail
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. field — a subject
  7. rash — hasty
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bank — for money
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bank — of a river
  14. field — for sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. rash — a series
  20. squash — to crush
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bank — for money
  23. chest — of your body
  24. field — farmland

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