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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: hand · track · net · ball · file · patient · bass · leaves

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  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. bass — the instrument
  3. track — a path
  4. ball — a dance
  5. file — a document
  6. ball — a great time
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. file — a line of people
  10. net — in sport
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. file — a tool
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — for catching
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — help
  17. bass — the fish
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — in cards
  21. track — to keep track
  22. bass — low music
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. patient — calm and waiting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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