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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: wind · snap · shower · patient · rest · club

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rest — a break
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. snap — to click
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rest — what's left
  12. club — for golf
  13. wind — moving air
  14. rest — what's left
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. patient — a sick person

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