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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 116 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 sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  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. bark — to shout
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fine — high quality
  4. rash — a series
  5. fine — all right
  6. root — of a plant
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. cold — an illness
  9. rash — hasty
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — shares
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. root — of a word
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  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