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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: current · pitcher · sharp · tear · shower · wake · patient · wound

  1. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. current — of water
  3. shower — to wash
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — a trail
  7. current — happening now
  8. sharp — clever
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — to rip
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. wound — an injury
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. tear — from crying
  24. pitcher — a jug

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