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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.

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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — in a road
  5. stock — goods
  6. stock — shares
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — a contest
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. race — the arms race
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. race — humankind
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. snap — to click
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. mine — for digging
  18. snap — to snap out of it

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