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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
468
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: shower · calf · patient · mine · rest · stand · bore · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. rest — what's left
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bore — to tire
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bore — to drill
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rest — a break
  17. shower — rain
  18. stand — to bear
  19. track — a song
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — to wash

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