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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: wind · pass · court · patient · race · stock

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. race — humankind
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. court — for sport
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. court — of law
  14. race — a contest
  15. wind — moving air
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — goods
  18. pass — a permit

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