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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 120 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. stock — shares
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. saw — the tool
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — goods
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. pass — a permit
  13. file — a document
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. capital — a city
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. saw — the tool
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. temple — side of the head

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