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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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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: club · patient · squash · shower · bark · tear · straw · ruler

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. bark — to shout
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — rain
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. squash — to crush
  15. club — for dancing
  16. tear — from crying
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. club — a group
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — for golf
  22. squash — the sport
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. patient — a sick person

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