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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: wake · can · game · shower · patient · scale · content · spring

  1. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. spring — of water
  4. can — to be able to
  5. content — the amount
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. content — happy
  8. shower — rain
  9. game — wild animals
  10. scale — size or range
  11. can — a tin
  12. spring — a coil
  13. can — a tin
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. scale — in music
  16. spring — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. game — a match
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. wake — a trail
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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