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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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. net — for catching
  10. hand — in cards
  11. wind — moving air
  12. plane — a tool
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fall — the season
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. wind — moving air
  17. net — in sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bore — to tire

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