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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. root — of a word
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. net — in sport
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. net — after costs
  8. row — a line
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. mug — to rob
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. net — for catching
  15. root — of a plant
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. mug — a cup
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. mug — a face
  23. root — the cause
  24. jam — in traffic

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