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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: march · rash · patient · leaves · spell · shower · cell · bay

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. cell — in biology
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. spell — letters
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. march — the month
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rash — hasty
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. march — music
  19. spell — magic
  20. march — the month
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cell — a phone
  23. spell — a short time
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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