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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. stock — goods
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. cell — in biology
  7. game — a match
  8. stock — shares
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. fork — in a road
  14. lean — to bend
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cell — a phone
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. lean — thin
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — the fish

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