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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: swing · date · shower · rest · patient · stem · spring · sharp

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. spring — the season
  2. swing — to play on
  3. swing — in golf
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. shower — to wash
  6. rest — what's left
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rest — a break
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. swing — music
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. spring — of water
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — rain
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rest — what's left
  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