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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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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 · fall · shower · arm · wake · last · mouse · patient

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. shower — to wash
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. last — to go on
  5. last — finally
  6. last — final
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. content — the amount
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. content — happy
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. shower — rain
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. fall — the season
  24. wake — a trail

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