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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: kid · cell · patient · race · shower · plane

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. cell — a phone
  7. kid — to tease
  8. race — humankind
  9. shower — to wash
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — in biology
  12. race — the arms race
  13. plane — a tool
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. race — a contest
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain

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