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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: stock · cell · tear · bass · patient · swing

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cell — a phone
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — low music
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. swing — music
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in biology
  18. swing — to play on

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