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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: hand · shower · patient · present · spell · nail · pop · file

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. file — a document
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spell — magic
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — letters
  9. pop — music
  10. pop — soda
  11. pop — to visit
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. present — a gift
  14. shower — to wash
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. file — a tool
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a line of people
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. present — there
  21. hand — help
  22. spell — a short time
  23. present — the time now
  24. hand — part of the body

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