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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: rush · mine · hand · patient · bark · jam · ground · rock

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. ground — a position
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rock — music
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. rock — a stone
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. rush — hurry
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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