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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: march · shower · current · spring · fall · patient · ground · toast

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. toast — bread
  3. current — of water
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. current — happening now
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. march — the month
  9. fall — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. fall — to drop
  13. march — the month
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fall — to drop
  16. shower — to wash
  17. march — music
  18. ground — crushed
  19. spring — of water
  20. ground — a position
  21. ground — the earth
  22. spring — the season
  23. current — electric
  24. shower — rain

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