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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. bat — the animal
  4. rest — what's left
  5. shower — rain
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. shower — to wash
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. stock — shares
  10. rest — a break
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stock — goods
  13. game — a match
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. game — wild animals
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. fan — to cool the air

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