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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: current · patient · hand · face · march · lash · shower · fall

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. face — part of the head
  8. face — to confront
  9. current — happening now
  10. hand — help
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. current — of water
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hand — in cards
  21. march — the month
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. current — electric
  24. lash — an eyelash

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