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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 112 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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. season — in sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. tear — from crying
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. tear — to rip
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — boats
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. craft — a skill
  18. bat — in an idiom

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