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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. net — after costs
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. lean — thin
  5. spring — the season
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. mug — a face
  8. spring — of water
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. lean — to bend
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — for catching
  15. mug — to rob
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mug — a cup
  19. spring — a coil
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. perch — the fish
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. net — in sport

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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