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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — to wash
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. rash — a series
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. stock — shares
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rash — hasty
  14. last — finally
  15. club — for golf
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. club — a group
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. club — for dancing
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. press — a publisher
  22. press — to push
  23. press — newspapers
  24. shower — rain

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