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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: patient · wave · key · press · shower · club · kid · rash

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. club — a group
  3. press — to push
  4. press — a publisher
  5. kid — child
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — hasty
  8. shower — to wash
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. club — for golf
  11. key — in music
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. club — for dancing
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. shower — rain
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. key — for a lock
  24. press — newspapers

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