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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. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. object — a thing
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. net — after costs
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — for catching
  6. hand — in cards
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. board — to get on
  9. hand — help
  10. net — in sport
  11. rest — a break
  12. board — a committee
  13. cell — a phone
  14. clip — a video
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. rest — what's left
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cell — in biology
  19. object — to protest
  20. object — an aim
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rest — what's left

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