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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 116 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: lean · sharp · net · lash · cold · patient · rest · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. lean — thin
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. cold — not warm
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. field — a subject
  11. rest — what's left
  12. field — farmland
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. net — for catching
  15. net — in sport
  16. lean — to bend
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — after costs
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. sharp — clever
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. sharp — with an edge

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