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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — crushed
  6. stock — shares
  7. band — a music group
  8. stock — goods
  9. root — of a word
  10. root — of a plant
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. band — a ring
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. cue — a hint
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. ground — a position
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. root — the cause

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