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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  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. net — after costs
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rest — what's left
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. snap — to click
  7. net — in sport
  8. last — final
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. last — finally
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. rest — a break
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. last — to go on
  15. bear — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. rest — what's left
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. net — for catching
  21. ball — a great time
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stem — a stem cell
  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