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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: patient · kick · current · row · bark · roll · cold · present

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. row — a line
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. current — electric
  5. roll — a list
  6. bark — to shout
  7. present — there
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — in football
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. cold — an illness
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. present — a gift
  19. current — of water
  20. present — the time now
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. roll — a cake
  23. row — to paddle
  24. patient — a sick person

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