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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. face — to point toward
  5. stock — goods
  6. content — the amount
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — of water
  10. file — a document
  11. content — happy
  12. file — a line of people
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. firm — steady
  16. spring — the season
  17. rash — hasty
  18. file — a tool
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. face — to confront
  21. spring — a coil
  22. firm — a company
  23. face — part of the head
  24. stock — shares

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