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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.

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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. 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. spring — a coil
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — the amount
  9. pit — a hole
  10. pit — in a race
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. mine — for digging
  15. content — happy
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. stock — shares
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. foot — a measure
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wake — a trail
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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