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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — an illness
  3. shower — to wash
  4. bound — certain
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. shower — rain
  7. bound — obliged
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — goods
  11. tube — a container
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — shares
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bound — tied together
  20. chair — a leader
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. cold — not warm

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