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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: patient · shower · roll · wave · mine · kid · racket · wake

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. roll — a cake
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. shower — to wash
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. shower — rain
  21. roll — a list
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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