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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. net — after costs
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. content — happy
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. content — the amount
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. dip — to sink
  12. net — for catching
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. net — in sport
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. ball — a dance
  18. row — a line
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. row — to paddle
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. lie — to recline
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — a straw man

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