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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. net — for catching
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ground — a position
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. net — in sport
  10. fine — high quality
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. rush — hurry
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ground — the earth
  22. fine — all right
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. tear — to rip

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