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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. toast — bread
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. cold — not warm
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. mine — for digging
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. current — of water
  17. shower — rain
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. stock — shares
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — goods

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