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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 116 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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bore — to drill
  6. spring — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bore — to tire
  9. spring — a coil
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a city
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. net — for catching
  16. spring — of water
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. capital — a big letter

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