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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 120 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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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: wound · bat · patient · fall · net · rash · calf · pound

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. net — after costs
  4. rash — hasty
  5. fall — to drop
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. net — for catching
  11. pound — a weight
  12. fall — the season
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — a series
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. wound — an injury
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. net — in sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bat — the animal

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