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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. net — for catching
  5. bear — the animal
  6. net — in sport
  7. net — after costs
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cap — a lid
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rest — what's left
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. tube — a container
  19. rest — what's left
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bear — the animal
  22. tube — the underground
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. cap — of ice

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