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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: chest · ball · rule · patient · shower · mate · content · roll

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. shower — to wash
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. roll — a cake
  5. chest — of your body
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mate — a friend
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. content — happy
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. rule — government
  12. chest — a box
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mate — to breed
  15. ball — a great time
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. content — the amount
  18. shower — rain
  19. chest — of your body
  20. rule — a law
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. ball — a dance
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mate — a partner

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