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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 116 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: row · nail · fan · spell · patient · field · squash · cell

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. spell — magic
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. field — farmland
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. squash — the sport
  11. field — for sport
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. row — to paddle
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — letters
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. row — a line
  21. field — a subject
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. squash — to crush
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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