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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · board · shower · land · racket · patient · swing · hand

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. swing — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — a country
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. swing — in golf
  10. hand — in cards
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. shower — rain
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. board — to get on
  18. shower — to wash
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. swing — to play on
  21. board — a committee
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — ground
  24. hand — help

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