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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — after costs
  3. chest — of your body
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. wake — a trail
  7. net — for catching
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. net — in sport
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. game — a match
  13. swing — in golf
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. swing — music
  18. key — in music
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. key — for a lock
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pound — a weight
  24. chest — a box

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