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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: straw · degree · dip · spring · shower · coach · pop · patient

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spring — a coil
  4. pop — music
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pop — to visit
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. degree — an amount
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. degree — temperature
  13. degree — from a university
  14. dip — to sink
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. spring — the season
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. pop — soda
  23. spring — of water
  24. straw — dry grass

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