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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: wind · cell · jam · rush · patient · key · shower · content

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. shower — rain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. key — for a lock
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. key — in music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rush — hurry
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — to wash
  15. content — happy
  16. key — the most important part
  17. content — the amount
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. rush — a thrill

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