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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: bark · staff · mine · current · row · rule · patient · club

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. club — for golf
  3. staff — employees
  4. rule — government
  5. club — for dancing
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. current — happening now
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. club — a group
  10. staff — a stick
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. rule — a law
  14. row — to paddle
  15. current — of water
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. current — electric
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. mine — for digging
  23. staff — employees
  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