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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: swing · cold · shower · patient · fine · board · stock · straw

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. fine — high quality
  4. swing — to play on
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. swing — music
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stock — shares
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. shower — to wash
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. cold — not warm
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. fine — all right

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