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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. last — final
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. last — to go on
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stock — shares
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. stock — goods
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. perch — the fish
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. chest — a box
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — finally
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. patient — a sick person

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