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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. face — to point toward
  4. content — the amount
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. tear — from crying
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. face — to confront
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. content — happy
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — a contest
  17. race — the arms race
  18. craft — boats
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. net — in sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. tear — from crying
  23. face — part of the head
  24. net — after costs

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