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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
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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: key · field · shower · date · tear · wound · patient · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. date — the fruit
  3. row — to paddle
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. key — in music
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — an injury
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — the most important part
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. shower — to wash
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. shower — rain
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. row — a line
  23. key — for a lock
  24. wound — an injury

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