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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. stem — to come from
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stock — goods
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. spell — letters
  8. rule — a law
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pop — to visit
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pop — soda
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. pop — music
  17. fork — in a road
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. spell — magic
  23. stock — shares
  24. stem — of a plant

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