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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — crushed
  3. lie — to recline
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. spring — the season
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. land — to come down
  13. spring — of water
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. ground — the earth
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. land — ground
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — a country
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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