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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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Word bank
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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 · plane · race · chest · hide · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. shower — to wash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. chest — of your body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. race — a contest
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. race — humankind
  12. chest — a box
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. race — the arms race
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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