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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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. shower — to wash
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — a company
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. firm — decided
  7. shower — rain
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kick — in football
  11. last — final
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. last — to go on
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. capital — money
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a city
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. last — finally

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