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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: shower · patient · cold · dip · temple · deal · bowl · court

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. court — of law
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. shower — rain
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. cold — not warm
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. dip — to sink
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. court — of a king
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. shower — to wash
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cold — an illness
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. court — for sport

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