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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. last — finally
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. capital — a city
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fine — all right
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. tube — a container
  17. capital — money
  18. fine — high quality
  19. snap — to click
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stock — goods
  22. sharp — clever
  23. tube — the underground
  24. stock — shares

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