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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: patient · wind · bass · row · chest · net · bore · racket

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. net — after costs
  7. row — a line
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chest — of your body
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. row — to paddle
  13. chest — a box
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. bore — to drill
  19. net — in sport
  20. net — for catching
  21. wind — moving air
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. patient — a sick person

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