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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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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: chest · wound · craft · kid · patient · bear · pit · shower

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. pit — a hole
  4. pit — in a race
  5. chest — of your body
  6. craft — a skill
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bear — the animal
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kid — child
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. craft — boats
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bear — the animal
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. chest — a box
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chest — of your body

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