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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: shower · ground · snap · cell · saw · patient

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. ground — a position
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. saw — the tool
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — crushed
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ground — the earth
  14. cell — in biology
  15. snap — to click
  16. cell — a phone
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. saw — the tool

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