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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
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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: land · patient · lash · temple · tube · toast · bass · shower

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. bass — low music
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — rain
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. tube — the underground
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. tube — a container
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. land — ground
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bass — the fish
  24. land — a country

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