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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.

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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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bass — low music
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. bass — the fish
  8. net — in sport
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. hand — in cards
  14. net — after costs
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. net — for catching
  17. plane — a tool
  18. hand — help
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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