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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. deal — to handle
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wound — an injury
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. file — a line of people
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. file — a document
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. rush — hurry
  17. stock — shares
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. file — a tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. stem — to come from
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. stem — of a plant

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