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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. net — after costs
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. net — for catching
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pop — music
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ground — the earth
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a document
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — crushed
  18. file — a tool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. pop — soda
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. net — in sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. dip — to sink

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