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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 was a fun ________________.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. key — in music
  3. game — wild animals
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. chest — a box
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. chest — of your body
  11. stock — goods
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — the most important part
  18. lie — to recline
  19. chest — of your body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. key — for a lock
  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