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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. bass — the fish
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. degree — from a university
  8. hand — help
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stock — goods
  11. net — for catching
  12. degree — an amount
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bass — low music
  19. hand — in cards
  20. stock — shares
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stock — a soup base

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