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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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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: patient · shower · saw · last · spring · stick · firm · pop

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. saw — the tool
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. firm — steady
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. saw — the tool
  8. shower — rain
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. spring — of water
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. firm — a company
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pop — to visit
  16. spring — the season
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. last — to go on
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. last — finally
  21. firm — decided
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — music
  24. spring — a coil

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