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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. net — after costs
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. net — in sport
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fine — all right
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. prune — to trim
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cell — a phone
  16. fine — high quality
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. net — for catching
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a music group
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. tear — from crying
  24. band — a rubber band

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