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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.

Make a worksheet

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 water is too ________________.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — magic
  5. spell — a short time
  6. object — to protest
  7. staff — employees
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. plane — a tool
  11. rash — hasty
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. staff — employees
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. spell — letters
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rash — a series
  23. root — of a word
  24. plane — in geometry

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