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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 · patient · cap · kick · cabinet · pop · mine · mate

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. mate — a friend
  4. shower — rain
  5. pop — soda
  6. mate — to breed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. kick — in football
  9. cap — of ice
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. mate — a partner
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. pop — music
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. cap — a lid
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cap — a hat

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