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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 broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — rain
  5. track — a song
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. capital — a city
  8. track — a path
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. season — of the year
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. squash — to crush
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. squash — the sport
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. shower — to wash
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. track — to keep track
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. season — in sport
  24. capital — money

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