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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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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: shower · hide · bark · present · patient · lean · ground · stock

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. lean — thin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. shower — to wash
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. stock — shares
  11. ground — the earth
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. present — a gift
  14. lean — to bend
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. shower — rain
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. ground — crushed

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