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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mate — a partner
  5. net — for catching
  6. net — after costs
  7. craft — a skill
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. shower — rain
  10. kid — child
  11. mate — to breed
  12. cap — of ice
  13. shower — to wash
  14. net — in sport
  15. cap — a hat
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. board — to get on
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mate — a friend
  21. board — a committee
  22. cap — a lid
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. craft — boats

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