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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. season — in sport
  4. chip — to eat
  5. chip — for betting
  6. season — of the year
  7. spell — magic
  8. row — to paddle
  9. sharp — clever
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. spell — letters
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. spell — a short time
  14. row — a line
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — size or range
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. shower — rain
  24. sharp — exactly

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