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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. file — a tool
  3. snap — to click
  4. key — the most important part
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. content — the amount
  7. pass — a permit
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. key — in music
  10. key — for a lock
  11. file — a document
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. stock — shares
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. spring — the season
  17. content — happy
  18. spring — a coil
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a line of people
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. patient — a sick person

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