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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. stock — goods
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. snap — to click
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. season — of the year
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. scale — in music
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — shares
  15. season — in sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stand — to bear

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