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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: deal · perch · wave · drill · stock · patient · season · cell

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. drill — a practice
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. stock — shares
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. drill — army training
  12. cell — a phone
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. perch — the fish
  16. season — in sport
  17. drill — the tool
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. stock — goods
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. deal — to handle

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