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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: march · face · wound · content · present · mouse · shower · patient

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. march — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. present — there
  15. content — happy
  16. shower — rain
  17. content — the amount
  18. wound — an injury
  19. face — part of the head
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. face — to confront
  23. present — the time now
  24. mouse — for a computer

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