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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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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: mine · cue · face · season · file · patient · spell · hand

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. season — in sport
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. cue — a signal
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. file — a document
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. hand — in cards
  11. file — a tool
  12. hand — help
  13. face — to point toward
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cue — a hint
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. face — to confront
  18. season — of the year
  19. face — part of the head
  20. file — a line of people
  21. spell — magic
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cue — for pool
  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