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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cue — a signal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pit — a hole
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cue — for pool
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. stock — shares
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pit — in a race
  13. pop — to visit
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cue — a hint
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — music
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. pop — soda
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — not warm

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