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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 116 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
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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 · rash · bark · patient · branch · rest · cue · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. field — for sport
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cue — a hint
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. cue — for pool
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — farmland
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. rest — what's left
  15. branch — a division
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. rest — a break
  18. rash — a series
  19. field — a subject
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. rash — hasty
  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