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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 · stick · patient · clip · suit · content · swing · bore

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. content — happy
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. suit — in cards
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. bore — gave birth
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. content — the amount
  14. bore — to drill
  15. net — for catching
  16. bore — to tire
  17. clip — to cut
  18. suit — to fit
  19. suit — clothes
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — in golf

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