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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · patient · snap · stock · perch · ball · row · bound

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — certain
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bound — obliged
  5. row — to paddle
  6. ball — a dance
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — a line
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ball — a great time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. perch — the fish
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cold — an illness
  17. stock — shares
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — goods
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. snap — to click
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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