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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 · season · cold · patient · track · toast · face · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. season — in sport
  6. track — to keep track
  7. spell — a short time
  8. face — to confront
  9. spell — magic
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — bread
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. spell — letters
  14. rest — a break
  15. cold — not warm
  16. track — a path
  17. face — part of the head
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rest — what's left
  21. season — of the year
  22. track — a song
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. face — to point toward

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