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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. cap — a hat
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cap — a lid
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spell — a short time
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pass — a permit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. swing — music
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. hand — help
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. spell — letters
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. file — a line of people

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