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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 120 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: fall · content · patient · racket · wind · ball · board · shower

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. content — happy
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. shower — rain
  6. ball — a great time
  7. board — a committee
  8. ball — a dance
  9. fall — to drop
  10. board — to get on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. shower — to wash
  17. fall — the season
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. wind — moving air
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — the amount

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