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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. capital — a city
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. capital — money
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — in sport
  18. chair — a leader
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — a trail
  22. net — for catching
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. wind — moving air

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