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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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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: patient · lash · fall · degree · wound · club · bank · shower

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. club — a group
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fall — the season
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. degree — an amount
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bank — of a river
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wound — an injury
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — rain
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. fall — to drop
  20. club — for golf
  21. fall — to drop
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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