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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 · bear · craft · patient · march · roll · rush · scale

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. roll — a list
  3. scale — in music
  4. march — music
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — the animal
  7. net — after costs
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — the month
  12. net — for catching
  13. craft — boats
  14. craft — a skill
  15. roll — a cake
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — size or range
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. march — the month
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. net — in sport

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