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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: spring · fine · shower · drill · mouse · patient · jam · pit

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. fine — all right
  3. shower — rain
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — to wash
  10. fine — high quality
  11. pit — in a race
  12. spring — a coil
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. drill — a practice
  15. spring — of water
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. pit — a hole
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. drill — the tool
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. spring — the season
  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