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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: court · bark · land · face · fall · patient · kick · current

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. face — part of the head
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. current — electric
  7. land — a country
  8. fall — to drop
  9. court — of a king
  10. face — to point toward
  11. face — to confront
  12. land — to come down
  13. fall — the season
  14. current — happening now
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — in football
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. court — for sport
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. current — of water
  24. bark — to shout

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