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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. mate — to breed
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — what's left
  10. present — there
  11. mate — a friend
  12. rest — what's left
  13. net — after costs
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. scale — in music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — not warm
  22. scale — size or range
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — a break

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