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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. foot — a measure
  7. bulb — for light
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. chair — a leader
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. bulb — for light
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stock — goods
  16. cold — an illness
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. wake — a trail
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. vault — a safe
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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