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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: mark · patient · court · shower · tube · chest · lash · present

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. court — for sport
  3. shower — rain
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. court — of a king
  9. shower — to wash
  10. tube — the underground
  11. court — of law
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. present — a gift
  14. mark — a grade
  15. chest — a box
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — the time now
  21. tube — a container
  22. mark — a trace
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. mark — to pay attention

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