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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: spell · hide · file · patient · fall · rest

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. rest — a break
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. file — a tool
  7. spell — letters
  8. rest — what's left
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rest — what's left
  11. file — a line of people
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. file — a document
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. 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