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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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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: content · rest · fine · drill · patient · shower · key · snap

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. drill — the tool
  4. key — the most important part
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. drill — army training
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. fine — high quality
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. shower — to wash
  16. key — in music
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fine — all right
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to click
  21. shower — rain
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. key — for a lock
  24. rest — what's left

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