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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.

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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: foot · wake · shower · land · pound · patient · rash · fork

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. shower — to wash
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. shower — rain
  9. fork — in a road
  10. land — a country
  11. land — ground
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. foot — a measure
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. rash — a series
  24. land — to come down

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