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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. content — happy
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. content — the amount
  10. stock — shares
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bank — for money
  14. rush — hurry
  15. band — a ring
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. stock — goods
  18. bank — of a river
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. snap — to click
  23. bank — for money
  24. band — a music group

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