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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
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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: rule · wave · content · can · ball · patient · spring · bark

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. spring — of water
  3. ball — a dance
  4. can — to be able to
  5. can — a tin
  6. rule — government
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. can — a tin
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. spring — a coil
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rule — a law
  22. bark — to shout
  23. spring — the season
  24. content — the amount

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