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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. net — for catching
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bass — the fish
  8. lean — thin
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. mug — to rob
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mug — a cup
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. net — after costs
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — help
  24. lean — to bend

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