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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stock — goods
  4. game — wild animals
  5. track — a path
  6. mug — a face
  7. kid — child
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. mug — a cup
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. game — a match
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — to tease
  23. mug — to rob
  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