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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. cell — a phone
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — a partner
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. content — happy
  14. content — the amount
  15. stock — goods
  16. fork — in a road
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. cell — in biology
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mate — to breed
  21. wind — moving air
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. ruler — for measuring

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