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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. band — a music group
  3. file — a document
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stock — goods
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spell — magic
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — a series
  14. stock — shares
  15. perch — the fish
  16. file — a line of people
  17. spell — a short time
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. hand — in cards
  20. rash — hasty
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — help
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. perch — for a bird

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