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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: content · nail · patient · tear · rush · shower · track · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. track — to keep track
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. tear — to rip
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — not warm
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — rain
  17. tear — from crying
  18. content — happy
  19. track — a path
  20. shower — to wash
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. content — the amount
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cold — an illness

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