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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: patient · capital · firm · toast · shower · deal · last · hand

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. firm — steady
  3. toast — bread
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. hand — help
  6. firm — decided
  7. shower — to wash
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. shower — rain
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. capital — money
  14. last — to go on
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. firm — a company
  19. capital — a city
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. deal — to handle

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