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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: shower · bear · cap · row · patient · saw · pitch · fine

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. row — to paddle
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. row — a line
  8. pitch — completely
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. bear — the animal
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. saw — the tool
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fine — a penalty

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