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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — after costs
  6. press — to push
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. mark — a grade
  9. press — newspapers
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. spell — letters
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. press — a publisher
  15. mark — a trace
  16. net — in sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. shower — rain
  20. bat — the animal
  21. spell — a short time
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. spell — magic
  24. coach — a trainer

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