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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: firm · field · shower · rash · saw · temple · patient · arm

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. shower — to wash
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. saw — the tool
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. field — for sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. rash — a series
  13. firm — steady
  14. rash — hasty
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — rain
  20. field — a subject
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. firm — decided

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