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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 120 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: nail · pop · land · temple · patient · shower · squash · staff

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. staff — employees
  3. pop — music
  4. squash — the sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. staff — employees
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. land — ground
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. squash — to crush
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. staff — a stick
  18. pop — soda
  19. shower — rain
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pop — to visit
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. land — to come down

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