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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mark — a trace
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wound — an injury
  6. cold — not warm
  7. march — music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. kid — to tease
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — the month
  12. kid — child
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. snap — to click
  17. mark — a grade
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. stock — shares
  24. cold — an illness

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