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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: spell · patient · cold · chair · pass · rush · lash · stick

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. rush — hurry
  3. spell — magic
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chair — a leader
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. cold — not warm
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. pass — a permit
  18. cold — an illness
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

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