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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: rash · patient · temple · content · ball · shower · bat · bark

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. rash — a series
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — to shout
  12. rash — hasty
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. shower — rain
  22. content — happy
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — on the skin

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