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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. rest — a break
  3. pit — a hole
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. game — a match
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. net — after costs
  15. pitch — completely
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. scale — in music
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rest — what's left
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. scale — size or range
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pit — in a race
  24. hand — in cards

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