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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. spell — magic
  6. shower — rain
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. spell — a short time
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spell — letters
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tube — a container
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wind — moving air
  21. kid — to tease
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. tube — in a tire

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