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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 · bat · calf · board · root · race · spring · patient

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. spring — the season
  4. shower — to wash
  5. root — of a word
  6. bat — the animal
  7. root — the cause
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. spring — of water
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. board — to get on
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. race — the arms race
  21. shower — rain
  22. board — a committee
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. spring — a coil

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