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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: patient · spring · land · fine · net · mate · object · stand

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. fine — high quality
  3. object — to protest
  4. spring — the season
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — a coil
  7. object — an aim
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fine — all right
  11. spring — of water
  12. land — a country
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. net — for catching
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. land — to come down
  17. land — ground
  18. stand — to bear
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. object — a thing
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. mate — to breed
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mate — a partner

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