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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 116 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. rule — government
  4. bank — for money
  5. bat — the animal
  6. hand — help
  7. rule — a law
  8. bank — for money
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. pop — to visit
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pop — soda
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bank — of a river
  19. pop — music
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. drill — army training
  23. hand — in cards
  24. drill — the tool

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