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

Word bank: patient · stock · bat · kick · pit · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. stock — shares
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pit — a hole
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pit — in a race
  12. kick — in football
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. tear — from crying
  18. kick — a thrill

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