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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. shower — to wash
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. shower — rain
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. rash — hasty
  11. cold — not warm
  12. tear — from crying
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rash — a series
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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