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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. stock — shares
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wound — an injury
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fine — all right
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — for digging
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bat — the animal
  17. last — final
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. last — to go on
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. snap — to click
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. last — finally
  24. patient — a sick person

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