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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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bass — the fish
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. kid — child
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. drill — army training
  14. fall — the season
  15. kid — to tease
  16. spell — letters
  17. field — a subject
  18. bass — low music
  19. drill — a practice
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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