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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 train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. fine — high quality
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. fine — all right
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. kid — child
  12. net — after costs
  13. shower — rain
  14. kid — to tease
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — in sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. sharp — clever
  21. net — for catching
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stand — to bear
  24. patient — a sick person

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