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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 116 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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — a stick
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. cold — an illness
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. staff — employees
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — to breed
  15. march — the month
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. staff — employees
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. rock — music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. shower — rain
  22. rock — a stone
  23. march — music
  24. rock — to move gently

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