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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. stem — to come from
  4. wound — an injury
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. net — for catching
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. wound — an injury
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. net — in sport
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — to grow
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. row — a line
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — clever

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