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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 · mine · cell · bass · season · rash · deal · shower

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. shower — rain
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. bass — the fish
  8. cell — a phone
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mine — for digging
  11. deal — to handle
  12. bass — low music
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. season — of the year
  23. cell — in biology
  24. shower — to wash

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