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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · last · cell · bat · patient · scale · bore · straw

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  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. net — after costs
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bore — to tire
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bore — to drill
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — finally
  11. net — in sport
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cell — a phone
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. last — to go on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bat — the animal
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. scale — in music
  22. last — final
  23. scale — size or range
  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