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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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 — shares
  2. bear — the animal
  3. file — a line of people
  4. date — the fruit
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bore — to drill
  11. spring — of water
  12. ball — a dance
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bore — to tire
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. file — a document
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. spring — the season
  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