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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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. straw — dry grass
  4. plane — a tool
  5. capital — money
  6. spring — the season
  7. wake — a trail
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. spring — a coil
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. spring — of water
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — to recline
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. spell — a short time
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. capital — a city
  24. spell — letters

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