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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. net — after costs
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. tear — from crying
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. tear — to rip
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. craft — a skill
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. chair — a leader
  17. club — for golf
  18. craft — boats
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. stem — to come from
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. club — a group
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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