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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. rash — hasty
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stock — goods
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. pop — music
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. capital — money
  11. stock — shares
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. capital — a city
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. board — a committee
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mine — for digging
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. rash — a series
  23. board — to get on
  24. arm — part of the body

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