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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: hand · patient · sharp · calf · face · mine · wave · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. sharp — clever
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. face — to point toward
  10. shower — rain
  11. face — to confront
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. hand — help
  14. mine — for digging
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. face — part of the head
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. wave — with your hand

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