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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 120 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: patient · rush · spring · net · shower · fine · game · face

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. game — a match
  3. face — part of the head
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. face — to confront
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. net — for catching
  8. fine — high quality
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. net — in sport
  11. spring — of water
  12. shower — rain
  13. game — wild animals
  14. net — after costs
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. face — to point toward
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spring — a coil
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. fine — all right
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. rush — hurry
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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