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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.

Make a worksheet

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
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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: cue · patient · staff · rash · pitcher · net · mug · spring

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. net — after costs
  5. staff — employees
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. mug — to rob
  10. mug — a face
  11. net — for catching
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — in sport
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. spring — the season
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. spring — of water
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. mug — a cup
  21. cue — for pool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. rash — a series
  24. pitcher — a jug

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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