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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. game — a match
  3. court — of law
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. net — after costs
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. net — for catching
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pitch — completely
  11. march — music
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. march — the month
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cell — in biology
  17. net — in sport
  18. court — for sport
  19. court — of a king
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. march — the month
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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