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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: swing · patient · mate · chest · shower · toast

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. shower — rain
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. toast — bread
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — music
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. chest — a box
  14. mate — a friend
  15. chest — of your body
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. shower — to wash

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