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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 116 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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. face — to confront
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. face — to point toward
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. spell — a short time
  9. track — a path
  10. wind — moving air
  11. face — part of the head
  12. track — a song
  13. object — an aim
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. object — to protest
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. net — in sport
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. object — a thing
  22. spell — magic
  23. track — to keep track
  24. spell — letters

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