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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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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: land · content · patient · bore · net · shower · squash · band

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a music group
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bore — to drill
  7. land — to come down
  8. net — for catching
  9. content — happy
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. net — in sport
  12. shower — rain
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — ground
  15. shower — to wash
  16. squash — to crush
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. net — after costs
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a ring
  22. bore — to tire
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. land — a country

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