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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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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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. spell — letters
  5. spell — a short time
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. capital — a city
  10. wind — moving air
  11. shower — rain
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. field — a subject
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spell — magic
  24. wind — to turn a key

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