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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: cabinet · saw · hand · field · coach · spell · squash · patient

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spell — magic
  4. field — for sport
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. spell — letters
  7. hand — help
  8. squash — to crush
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. saw — the tool
  11. field — farmland
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. field — a subject
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. hand — in cards
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. squash — the sport
  24. spell — a short time

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