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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  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. net — for catching
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. net — in sport
  5. bulb — for light
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. chip — to eat
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. net — after costs
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bulb — for light
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chip — for betting
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. cold — an illness
  23. chip — in a computer
  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