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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — a coil
  5. spring — the season
  6. cue — a hint
  7. stock — goods
  8. spring — of water
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. tear — to rip
  11. roll — a cake
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — the earth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. roll — a list
  17. stock — shares
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. ground — a position
  20. cue — for pool
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cue — a signal
  23. tear — from crying
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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