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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. mug — to rob
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stock — shares
  8. mug — a cup
  9. season — of the year
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. season — in sport
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. mug — a face
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. cold — not warm
  22. rest — what's left
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. stock — goods

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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