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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: deal · cabinet · season · chest · spell · ground · patient · fan

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. season — of the year
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. ground — the earth
  8. spell — a short time
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. chest — of your body
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. ground — crushed
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. chest — a box
  20. season — in sport
  21. ground — a position
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. deal — to handle
  24. spell — magic

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