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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.

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: spell · file · patient · wax · court · saw · straw · capital

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. wax — to grow
  6. saw — the tool
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. court — of law
  15. saw — the tool
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. spell — a short time
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. court — for sport
  22. capital — a city
  23. capital — money
  24. court — of a king

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