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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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — shares
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. ball — a great time
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. lean — thin
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. stock — goods
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. rush — hurry
  21. fork — in a road
  22. squash — the sport
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. squash — to crush

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