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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 116 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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. bore — to drill
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — in biology
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. dip — to sink
  16. staff — employees
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — government
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — shares
  22. bore — to tire
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. dip — to dunk

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