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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. rule — government
  6. season — of the year
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. face — part of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. season — in sport
  23. shower — rain
  24. rule — a law

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