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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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 — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — a position
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mark — a trace
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. branch — a division
  16. stock — shares
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ground — crushed
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. mark — a grade
  23. straw — a straw man
  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