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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: shower · bark · sharp · patient · last · bowl · spell · nail

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — letters
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. bark — to shout
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. last — to go on
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. spell — magic
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. last — final
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. last — finally
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — with an edge

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