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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. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. net — in sport
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mark — a grade
  10. season — in sport
  11. snap — to click
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. cap — of ice
  15. cap — a hat
  16. net — for catching
  17. clip — for paper
  18. clip — a video
  19. net — after costs
  20. mark — a trace
  21. clip — to cut
  22. season — of the year
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. cap — a lid

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