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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: track · patient · key · cold · stick · net · perch · squash

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. net — after costs
  3. key — for a lock
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. track — to keep track
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. net — in sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. squash — the sport
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. squash — to crush
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. track — a song
  21. key — in music
  22. track — a path
  23. key — the most important part
  24. net — for catching

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