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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cue — a hint
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. land — a country
  8. roll — a list
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cue — a signal
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. land — to come down
  13. cue — for pool
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. roll — a cake
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. snap — to click
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. rash — a series
  23. land — ground
  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