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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. staff — a stick
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mine — for digging
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. staff — employees
  12. charge — electricity
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. charge — a price
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stock — goods
  19. charge — in control
  20. stock — shares
  21. cold — not warm
  22. staff — employees
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cold — an illness

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