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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: patient · hand · file · court · safe · spell · bulb · toast

  1. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — bread
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. court — for sport
  5. spell — a short time
  6. hand — in cards
  7. spell — letters
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. court — of law
  12. bulb — for light
  13. hand — help
  14. court — of a king
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bulb — for light
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. file — a tool
  22. file — a document
  23. spell — magic
  24. patient — a sick person

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