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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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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: field · wound · wax · rule · content · shower · hand · patient

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. rule — government
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. content — happy
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. field — a subject
  13. wound — an injury
  14. content — the amount
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. field — for sport
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rule — a law
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — to grow
  24. content — videos and posts

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