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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: patient · club · shower · lie · branch · content · hide · ruler

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. lie — to recline
  4. content — happy
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. shower — to wash
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. content — the amount
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. club — for dancing
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. shower — rain
  18. branch — a division
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. ruler — for measuring

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