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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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. pass — a permit
  4. bat — the animal
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. current — of water
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. game — a match
  13. wind — moving air
  14. net — in sport
  15. game — wild animals
  16. current — electric
  17. firm — decided
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wind — moving air
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. firm — steady
  22. firm — a company
  23. current — happening now
  24. net — for catching

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