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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. net — for catching
  3. shower — rain
  4. net — after costs
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. bat — the animal
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. shower — to wash
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. rest — a break
  18. staff — employees
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. staff — a stick

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