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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · lash · shower · current · present · fork · roll · court

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. current — of water
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. present — a gift
  6. current — electric
  7. court — of a king
  8. current — happening now
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. present — there
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. roll — a cake
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. roll — a list
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. present — the time now
  21. fork — in a road
  22. shower — rain
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. roll — on a roll

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