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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: net · trunk · patient · scale · date · pitch · clip · bear

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. scale — size or range
  11. pitch — completely
  12. clip — for paper
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. bear — the animal
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — after costs
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. date — the fruit
  22. scale — in music
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. pitch — a sports field

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