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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. charge — a price
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. spell — magic
  8. rush — hurry
  9. spell — a short time
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. net — in sport
  12. spell — letters
  13. rock — music
  14. rock — a stone
  15. net — after costs
  16. charge — in control
  17. net — for catching
  18. charge — electricity

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