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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 116 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: hand · lash · patient · fan · mark · pit · bat · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mark — a grade
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. shower — rain
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bat — the animal
  17. pit — in a race
  18. pit — a hole
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. hand — help
  22. mark — a trace
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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