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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 120 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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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: bay · wind · temple · patient · perch · pitch · rash · net

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  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. rash — hasty
  2. net — for catching
  3. pitch — completely
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — after costs
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. perch — for a bird
  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