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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fork — in a road
  3. spring — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. bore — to tire
  6. tube — a container
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. stock — shares
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. bore — to drill
  17. staff — employees
  18. stock — goods
  19. spring — a coil
  20. staff — employees
  21. spring — the season
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. staff — a stick
  24. tube — the underground

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