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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. bear — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. net — in sport
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. spring — the season
  16. pit — a hole
  17. spring — of water
  18. net — for catching
  19. pit — in a race
  20. spring — a coil
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bear — the animal
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. 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