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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 120 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.

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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. stock — shares
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mine — for digging
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. drill — the tool
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — goods

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