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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 120 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: lie · pit · spell · march · tear · club · staff · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. tear — to rip
  5. club — for golf
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. staff — employees
  10. club — a group
  11. tear — from crying
  12. club — for dancing
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. spell — magic
  16. spell — letters
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. tear — from crying
  19. march — the month
  20. pit — in a race
  21. staff — a stick
  22. spell — a short time
  23. staff — employees
  24. patient — a sick person

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