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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: patient · file · kid · bat · bulb · date · lash · spell

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. kid — child
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. date — the fruit
  7. file — a document
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bulb — for light
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bulb — for light
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. file — a tool
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bat — the animal

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