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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spell — magic
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. press — a publisher
  6. perch — the fish
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — a series
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. press — newspapers
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. spell — letters
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rash — hasty
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. press — to push
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. nail — on a finger

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