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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.

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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. game — wild animals
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. net — for catching
  14. lie — to recline
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person

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