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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a dance
  5. object — a thing
  6. rash — a series
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. object — to protest
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — in sport
  12. object — an aim
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ball — a great time
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. net — after costs
  22. rash — hasty
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mine — an explosive

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