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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: firm · file · patient · stock · charge · cell

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. charge — electricity
  3. firm — decided
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cell — a phone
  6. charge — a price
  7. file — a document
  8. stock — shares
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cell — in biology
  13. charge — in control
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. file — a tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. firm — a company

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