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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
468
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 · shower · can · fork · racket · pitcher · row · rule

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. rule — a law
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fork — in a road
  15. shower — rain
  16. rule — government
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. row — a line
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — to be able to
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. row — to paddle
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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