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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bass — the fish
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — goods
  11. rest — what's left
  12. net — for catching
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. cold — an illness
  17. net — after costs
  18. rest — a break
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rest — what's left
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stock — shares
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bear — to put up with

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