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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. land — to come down
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. net — for catching
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. land — a country
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. snap — to click
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. bulb — for light
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. land — ground
  17. net — in sport
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. content — happy
  24. hide — to keep secret

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