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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: net · tube · rest · firm · row · mug · patient · field

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. net — in sport
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. row — a line
  6. firm — a company
  7. firm — decided
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rest — what's left
  11. row — to paddle
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. field — farmland
  16. mug — to rob
  17. field — for sport
  18. firm — steady
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tube — the underground
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — a subject
  24. tube — a container

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