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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. game — a match
  4. firm — a company
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stock — shares
  7. firm — decided
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rash — hasty
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. dip — to sink
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. firm — steady
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. spring — the season
  16. stock — goods
  17. game — wild animals
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. spring — of water
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. patient — a sick person

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