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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 116 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: kid · race · shower · patient · lash · rest · wake · wound

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  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. wound — an injury
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. shower — rain
  5. rest — a break
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — what's left
  9. kid — child
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. race — humankind
  14. shower — to wash
  15. race — a contest
  16. kid — to tease
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. wake — a trail
  21. race — the arms race
  22. wound — an injury
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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