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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. bat — the animal
  11. squash — to crush
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. tube — a container
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fine — high quality
  16. branch — a division
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. fine — all right
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — for catching
  23. deal — to handle
  24. squash — the vegetable

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