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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: shower · patient · racket · court · bark · tear · firm · cap

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. tear — to rip
  3. shower — rain
  4. firm — steady
  5. tear — from crying
  6. court — of a king
  7. bark — to shout
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — a lid
  10. court — of law
  11. cap — of ice
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. firm — a company
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. court — for sport
  18. firm — decided
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bark — of a tree

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