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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. mate — a partner
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rush — hurry
  6. shower — to wash
  7. clip — for paper
  8. mate — a friend
  9. spell — letters
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. clip — to cut
  12. clip — a video
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mate — to breed
  16. object — to protest
  17. shower — rain
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. stem — to come from
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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