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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: temple · court · shower · rock · march · stock · fine · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. shower — rain
  5. march — music
  6. fine — high quality
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. rock — music
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. stock — goods
  11. shower — to wash
  12. stock — shares
  13. fine — all right
  14. court — of a king
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — a stone
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. court — of law
  22. court — for sport
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. march — the month

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