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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 · rock · cold · bowl · stand · shower · safe · spell

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. shower — to wash
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cold — not warm
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spell — letters
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rock — a stone
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — a short time
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stand — to bear
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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