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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: bay · shower · bank · content · field · straw · patient · bat

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. field — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. bank — for money
  8. bank — for money
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. field — farmland
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bat — the animal
  13. field — a subject
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — of a river
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — to wash
  20. content — happy
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. shower — rain
  24. bat — in an idiom

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