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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: lie · shower · kid · last · rock · mark · ground · patient

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lie — to recline
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mark — a trace
  12. rock — music
  13. mark — a grade
  14. ground — a position
  15. kid — to tease
  16. last — to go on
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. last — final
  22. shower — rain
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. lie — an untruth

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