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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. club — a group
  3. spell — magic
  4. court — of law
  5. net — in sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spell — a short time
  8. net — after costs
  9. spell — letters
  10. club — for golf
  11. tube — the underground
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. court — for sport
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. net — for catching
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. club — for dancing
  18. tube — a container
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — a sick person

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