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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
468
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 · rest · shower · land · racket · ball · tear · sharp

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. rest — what's left
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. sharp — clever
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. shower — rain
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. tear — from crying
  10. land — to come down
  11. tear — to rip
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. land — a country
  14. ball — a dance
  15. rest — what's left
  16. shower — to wash
  17. land — ground
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rest — a break
  21. ball — a great time
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — a sick person

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