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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stock — shares
  4. mug — a cup
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. net — in sport
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. net — for catching
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bore — to tire
  17. game — a match
  18. mug — to rob
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. game — wild animals
  23. stock — goods
  24. net — after costs

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