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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 116 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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mate — a friend
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. mate — to breed
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. scale — in music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. firm — a company
  13. firm — decided
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. mate — a partner
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stock — goods
  18. shower — rain
  19. firm — steady
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. shower — to wash
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stock — shares

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