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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: season · rash · shower · rock · date · nail · patient · pitch

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. rock — music
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. rash — a series
  9. date — the fruit
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. season — of the year
  17. rock — a stone
  18. shower — to wash
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. shower — rain
  21. season — in sport
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. pitch — completely

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