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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: land · prune · bark · patient · chip · shower · tube · tear

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. tear — from crying
  5. land — to come down
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chip — to eat
  10. bark — to shout
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. land — a country
  13. land — ground
  14. prune — to trim
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. chip — for betting
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. shower — to wash
  21. tube — a container
  22. shower — rain
  23. tube — the underground
  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