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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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  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. net — after costs
  2. spell — a short time
  3. net — in sport
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spell — letters
  7. lean — thin
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitch — completely
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. spell — magic
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. cold — an illness
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  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