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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. stock — shares
  3. suit — in cards
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ground — crushed
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. spring — the season
  9. suit — to fit
  10. stock — goods
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. can — a tin
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. ground — the earth
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. suit — clothes
  21. can — a tin
  22. cold — an illness
  23. ground — a position
  24. net — after costs

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