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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.

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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: date · roll · fine · spell · cold · bear · track · patient

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fine — all right
  3. track — a song
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. fine — high quality
  6. date — the fruit
  7. roll — a list
  8. spell — letters
  9. spell — a short time
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. bear — the animal
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spell — magic
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. track — to keep track
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. roll — a cake
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — a path

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