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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. staff — employees
  3. bat — the animal
  4. spell — a short time
  5. rash — a series
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. cap — a hat
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cap — of ice
  10. spell — magic
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. firm — decided
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. spell — letters
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — a stick
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — rain
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — a company

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