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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: current · march · hand · rash · kid · bark · mouse · patient

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — music
  4. hand — help
  5. kid — child
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bark — to shout
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — hasty
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. current — of water
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. mouse — the animal

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