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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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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: last · patient · firm · rule · chair · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. firm — decided
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. firm — steady
  6. firm — a company
  7. rule — government
  8. last — final
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. chair — a leader
  13. rule — a law
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — finally
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person

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