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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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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: board · rule · shower · racket · cold · mark · patient · temple

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. shower — to wash
  2. board — to get on
  3. rule — government
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. mark — a grade
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a trace
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — rain
  21. rule — a law
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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