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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. bound — obliged
  4. net — after costs
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — in sport
  8. squash — to crush
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. mark — a trace
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. bound — tied together
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — in cards
  16. ground — the earth
  17. plane — a tool
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bound — certain
  20. ground — a position
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. mark — a grade
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. net — for catching

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