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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 116 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: shower · clip · mark · march · wound · rest · rule · patient

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. clip — a video
  5. rest — a break
  6. mark — a grade
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. wound — an injury
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. clip — to cut
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. rule — a law
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. clip — for paper
  19. rest — what's left
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rest — what's left
  22. mark — a trace
  23. shower — to wash
  24. wound — an injury

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