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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: cold · bowl · mine · fan · bass · spell · patient · current

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. current — happening now
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. mine — for digging
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. bass — low music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. current — of water
  15. spell — magic
  16. cold — not warm
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. spell — letters
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. current — electric
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bass — the instrument

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