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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
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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: stem · hand · race · patient · net · spell · wind · charge

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hand — help
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. spell — magic
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. race — humankind
  11. charge — a price
  12. charge — electricity
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. spell — letters
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. net — for catching
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wind — moving air
  19. race — a contest
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — to come from
  22. net — in sport
  23. charge — in control
  24. race — the arms race

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