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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. stock — shares
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. chest — a box
  6. cold — an illness
  7. chest — of your body
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. cold — not warm
  12. scale — in music
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. club — a group
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. stock — goods
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. chest — of your body
  24. club — for dancing

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