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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. spell — letters
  3. spell — magic
  4. shower — rain
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mine — for digging
  8. spell — a short time
  9. shower — to wash
  10. rest — what's left
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. root — the cause
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. cap — a lid
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — a box
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — of your body
  21. root — of a word
  22. rest — what's left
  23. root — of a plant
  24. cap — of ice

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