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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: bank · patient · lash · ground · board · bound · hand · stock

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bank — of a river
  6. bank — for money
  7. board — a committee
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. hand — help
  12. stock — shares
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bound — obliged
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bank — for money
  19. board — to get on
  20. ground — the earth
  21. ground — a position
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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