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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stock — goods
  6. mine — for digging
  7. pop — music
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pop — soda
  23. pop — to visit
  24. fork — in a road

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