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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  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. wind — moving air
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. race — humankind
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. race — the arms race
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — goods
  15. wind — moving air
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — to breed
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. race — a contest
  23. mate — a friend
  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