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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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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: wake · file · swing · spell · fall · race · capital · patient

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. swing — to play on
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. capital — money
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a line of people
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a city
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. file — a document
  19. spell — a short time
  20. fall — to drop
  21. spell — letters
  22. fall — the season
  23. race — the arms race
  24. swing — in golf

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