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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cue — for pool
  6. cue — a hint
  7. game — wild animals
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — a video
  10. spring — the season
  11. key — in music
  12. key — for a lock
  13. spring — of water
  14. cue — a signal
  15. clip — for paper
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — shares
  21. key — the most important part
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cap — a lid

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