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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. cold — an illness
  4. spell — a short time
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. cold — not warm
  9. spell — letters
  10. ball — a dance
  11. stem — to come from
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. tube — the underground
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. ball — a great time
  19. saw — the tool
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spell — magic
  24. tube — a container

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