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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. shower — to wash
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. game — wild animals
  7. game — a match
  8. roll — a list
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. cell — in biology
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — rain
  15. saw — the tool
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. saw — the tool
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — a phone
  22. stock — goods
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. roll — a cake

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