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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — the month
  8. march — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rush — hurry
  12. club — for golf
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. file — a document
  16. stock — goods
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. club — for dancing
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. club — a group
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. hide — animal skin

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