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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — in cards
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ball — a dance
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pop — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. rule — government
  12. ball — a great time
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stock — shares
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pop — to visit
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. stock — goods
  24. rule — a law

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