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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: patient · row · cold · bark · rash · stock · wave · wind

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. cold — an illness
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. rash — a series
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cold — not warm
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bark — to shout
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. rash — hasty

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