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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. chair — a leader
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stock — goods
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. file — a line of people
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. file — a document
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. file — a tool
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cabinet — ministers

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