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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 120 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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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: board · shower · land · cell · fall · mark · wind · patient

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cell — in biology
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. fall — to drop
  7. board — a committee
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. shower — rain
  10. board — to get on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mark — a trace
  15. wind — moving air
  16. cell — a phone
  17. land — ground
  18. mark — a grade
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. wind — moving air
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — to come down
  23. fall — to drop
  24. land — a country

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