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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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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — shares
  3. perch — the fish
  4. bore — to drill
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. staff — a stick
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — goods
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. bore — to tire
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — employees
  18. wind — moving air

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