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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. spell — letters
  4. stock — shares
  5. spell — magic
  6. dip — to sink
  7. snap — to click
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. row — to paddle
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. row — a line
  13. stock — goods
  14. pitch — completely
  15. spring — the season
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spring — a coil
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spring — of water
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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