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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. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. game — a match
  4. perch — the fish
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. field — farmland
  10. stock — goods
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stock — shares
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cold — not warm
  21. cold — an illness
  22. field — for sport
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. perch — for a bird

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