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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: fall · rash · staff · tear · spell · field · patient · cue

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. tear — from crying
  3. spell — a short time
  4. fall — the season
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. staff — employees
  8. cue — a signal
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rash — hasty
  11. field — farmland
  12. spell — letters
  13. tear — to rip
  14. field — for sport
  15. spell — magic
  16. staff — employees
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rash — a series
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — a subject
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. staff — a stick
  24. cue — a hint

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