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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. content — the amount
  3. spring — the season
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. spring — a coil
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. current — of water
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. stock — shares
  13. scale — size or range
  14. current — electric
  15. spring — of water
  16. current — happening now
  17. field — a subject
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. scale — in music
  24. content — happy

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