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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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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: patient · shower · hand · wave · deal · can · cold · row

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. row — to paddle
  3. deal — to handle
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. hand — help
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — an illness
  8. shower — to wash
  9. cold — not warm
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a line
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. can — a tin
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. hand — in cards
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. can — to be able to

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