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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: stock · patient · track · shower · snap · bowl · wound · staff

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. staff — employees
  5. track — a song
  6. staff — employees
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — rain
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. track — to keep track
  16. wound — an injury
  17. shower — to wash
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. track — a path
  23. stock — shares
  24. staff — a stick

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