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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. firm — steady
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. spring — of water
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stock — goods
  10. fall — the season
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — shares
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rock — a stone
  20. firm — decided
  21. cold — not warm
  22. firm — a company
  23. rock — music
  24. cold — an illness

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