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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. craft — a skill
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. craft — boats
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. staff — a stick
  12. bear — the animal
  13. staff — employees
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. field — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. field — a subject
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. staff — employees
  22. wound — an injury
  23. field — farmland
  24. hide — animal skin

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