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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · last · wind · spell · land · fan · rash · stick

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. last — to go on
  3. spell — letters
  4. last — final
  5. land — a country
  6. land — to come down
  7. spell — a short time
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. rash — a series
  10. spell — magic
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. rash — hasty
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. land — ground
  23. wind — moving air
  24. last — finally

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