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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: hand · shower · bass · track · date · patient · spell · stock

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. bass — the fish
  7. date — the fruit
  8. track — a song
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. shower — to wash
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. spell — a short time
  13. shower — rain
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. track — a path
  17. stock — shares
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spell — magic
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. hand — help

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