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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: patient · bark · lean · rule · band · swing · game · mark

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. rule — a law
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. lean — thin
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. swing — to play on
  9. game — a match
  10. rule — government
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. band — a ring
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mark — a trace
  18. swing — music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. band — a music group
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. mark — a grade
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. game — wild animals

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