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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 120 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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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 · wake · face · spring · cold · cue · shower · tear

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. shower — to wash
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. spring — a coil
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cue — a signal
  11. shower — rain
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. face — to point toward
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wake — a trail
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. cue — a hint
  19. face — part of the head
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — not warm

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