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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 120 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 party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rule — government
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cell — a phone
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. stock — shares
  10. land — ground
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. rule — a law
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. land — a country
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rash — hasty
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. land — to come down
  22. stock — goods
  23. perch — the fish
  24. dip — to sink

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