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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: date · patient · net · shower · fan · mug · jam · cold

  1. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. mug — a face
  3. cold — an illness
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — in sport
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — not warm
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. date — the fruit
  14. net — for catching
  15. mug — a cup
  16. net — after costs
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. mug — to rob
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. fan — to cool the air

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