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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: patient · bass · fork · fall · march · shower · date · bay

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. date — the fruit
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. march — music
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bass — low music
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bass — the fish
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. fall — the season
  21. march — the month
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. march — the month

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