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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · wound · net · shower · drill · content · lean · perch

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. net — in sport
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — after costs
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. content — happy
  10. drill — army training
  11. lean — thin
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. drill — the tool
  16. lean — to bend
  17. drill — a practice
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. content — the amount
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — an injury
  22. net — for catching
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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