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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 · rush · patient · mate · file · content · board · bark

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. board — to get on
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. file — a tool
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. shower — rain
  10. board — a committee
  11. file — a line of people
  12. rush — hurry
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. mate — a friend
  18. file — a document
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bark — to shout
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — the amount
  24. shower — to wash

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