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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cue — a signal
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. press — to push
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. field — a subject
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. press — a publisher
  11. field — for sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. craft — a skill
  14. net — in sport
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. cue — for pool
  17. craft — boats
  18. press — newspapers
  19. stock — shares
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. net — for catching
  22. field — farmland
  23. dip — to sink
  24. cue — a hint

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