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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.

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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: mate · shower · bowl · sharp · patient · bark · rule · current

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. rule — government
  4. mate — a friend
  5. current — of water
  6. shower — rain
  7. bark — to shout
  8. mate — to breed
  9. sharp — clever
  10. current — happening now
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — a partner
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. rule — a law
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. current — electric
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — with an edge

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