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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pass — a permit
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. row — to paddle
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. court — for sport
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — a coil
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. net — after costs
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. net — in sport
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — a line
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. court — of a king
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. court — of law
  20. spring — of water
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. net — for catching
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — the season

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