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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. mug — a face
  6. stock — goods
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mug — a cup
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. hand — in cards
  13. shower — rain
  14. stock — shares
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mug — to rob
  17. hand — help
  18. shower — to wash
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. bat — the animal
  21. craft — a skill
  22. craft — boats
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. hand — part of the body

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