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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stock — shares
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — goods
  12. tear — from crying
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. tear — to rip
  16. capital — a city
  17. game — a match
  18. capital — money
  19. fine — high quality
  20. club — for golf
  21. club — a group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. club — for dancing
  24. stock — a soup base

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