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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 120 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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. wind — moving air
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stock — shares
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bark — to shout
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. stem — to come from
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. file — a line of people
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a document
  24. stem — a stem cell

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