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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. game — wild animals
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. net — in sport
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mug — a cup
  10. net — for catching
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. bulb — for light
  13. game — a match
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mug — a face
  16. clip — to cut
  17. clip — a video
  18. net — after costs
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. mug — to rob
  22. hand — help
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hand — part of the body

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