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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.

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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: firm · patient · current · spell · court · march · wave · fall

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. spell — letters
  3. fall — the season
  4. march — the month
  5. current — happening now
  6. court — of a king
  7. firm — a company
  8. current — electric
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fall — to drop
  12. firm — decided
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. court — of law
  17. firm — steady
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. current — of water
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. march — the month
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — for sport
  24. march — music

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