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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.

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: land · chest · scale · squash · file · patient · spell · bay

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spell — letters
  4. land — a country
  5. file — a line of people
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. scale — in music
  8. land — ground
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. land — to come down
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. scale — size or range
  17. file — a document
  18. spell — magic
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. file — a tool
  23. spell — a short time
  24. squash — to crush

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