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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. spell — letters
  4. band — a music group
  5. fall — the season
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — final
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. fall — to drop
  11. spell — a short time
  12. last — to go on
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. fall — to drop
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — a city
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. capital — money

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