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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: hide · patient · net · game · pit · shower · mine · bound

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. shower — rain
  4. pit — a hole
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a match
  7. bound — obliged
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. bound — certain
  11. mine — for digging
  12. net — after costs
  13. pit — in a race
  14. bound — tied together
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. shower — to wash
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — for catching
  24. mine — an explosive

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