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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. craft — boats
  4. net — in sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. perch — the fish
  7. degree — temperature
  8. degree — from a university
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. fine — high quality
  13. craft — a skill
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. tear — to rip
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. net — for catching
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a ring
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. fine — all right
  24. tear — from crying

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