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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. net — in sport
  4. dip — to sink
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. shower — rain
  8. kid — child
  9. shower — to wash
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rush — hurry
  12. net — after costs
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. net — for catching
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. kid — to tease
  19. pound — a weight
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chair — a leader
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. patient — a sick person

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