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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. wind — moving air
  9. last — finally
  10. plane — a tool
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. spell — magic
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. wax — to grow
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. spell — a short time
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. last — final
  23. last — to go on
  24. kid — child

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