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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: last · mark · cap · file · patient · race · spell · object

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. last — final
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cap — of ice
  6. mark — a trace
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. object — to protest
  10. spell — letters
  11. object — an aim
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. spell — magic
  14. last — finally
  15. last — to go on
  16. cap — a hat
  17. file — a document
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. object — a thing
  20. mark — a grade
  21. race — the arms race
  22. spell — a short time
  23. file — a tool
  24. mark — to pay attention

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