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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: fall · patient · temple · deal · racket · face · last · shower

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. fall — the season
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. shower — rain
  6. last — finally
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. fall — to drop
  9. deal — to handle
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. last — final
  14. face — to confront
  15. fall — to drop
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. last — to go on
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. shower — to wash
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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