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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. stock — shares
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. net — for catching
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cell — in biology
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. net — in sport
  15. squash — to crush
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. squash — the sport
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. lean — to bend
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stock — goods
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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