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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 120 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: chest · club · shower · coach · track · patient · pitcher · perch

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. chest — of your body
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. club — for golf
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. club — for dancing
  9. chest — of your body
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. shower — to wash
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. chest — a box
  16. track — to keep track
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. club — a group
  19. perch — the fish
  20. track — a song
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. patient — a sick person

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