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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 116 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: kid · bay · craft · tear · shower · patient · mate · march

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. shower — rain
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. shower — to wash
  5. tear — to rip
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. kid — to tease
  8. craft — boats
  9. march — music
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — to breed
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — a partner
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. kid — child
  19. march — the month
  20. craft — a skill
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. mate — a friend

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