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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 124 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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. game — wild animals
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. rest — what's left
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. rock — music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. march — music
  15. pit — a hole
  16. game — a match
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rest — a break
  19. march — the month
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. stock — shares
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stock — goods

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