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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: patient · chip · nail · bass · mine · pound · shower · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mine — for digging
  4. rock — a stone
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. shower — rain
  7. rock — music
  8. bass — low music
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pound — a weight
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. chip — for betting
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. shower — to wash
  24. mine — an explosive

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