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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wind — moving air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. last — final
  14. last — to go on
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stock — shares
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. last — finally
  22. bear — the animal
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bear — the animal

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