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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 116 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: wave · land · pitcher · track · last · shower · patient · dip

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. track — a song
  3. last — to go on
  4. land — to come down
  5. last — final
  6. track — a path
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. dip — to sink
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. track — to keep track
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. shower — rain
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. last — finally
  24. dip — a sauce

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