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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. sharp — clever
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. bear — the animal
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. race — a contest
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. race — humankind
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stock — goods
  24. race — the arms race

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