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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: shower · mine · bowl · bark · squash · bulb · patient · rash

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bulb — for light
  3. rash — a series
  4. mine — for digging
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. rash — hasty
  11. squash — the sport
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. shower — to wash
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. shower — rain
  23. bulb — for light
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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