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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. cold — not warm
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. chip — for betting
  12. current — happening now
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. chip — to eat
  18. cold — an illness
  19. current — of water
  20. bat — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. net — for catching
  24. current — electric

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