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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 120 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: hand · bark · file · shower · row · patient · season · fine

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. file — a line of people
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fine — high quality
  6. shower — rain
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. file — a tool
  10. row — to paddle
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. season — in sport
  13. hand — help
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. bark — to shout
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. shower — to wash
  20. season — of the year
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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