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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: wind · rush · bark · patient · land · spell · tear · ruler

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. land — to come down
  3. spell — letters
  4. bark — to shout
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rush — hurry
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — ground
  9. land — a country
  10. tear — to rip
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spell — magic
  15. wind — moving air
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. tear — from crying

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