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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: charge · rash · last · patient · roll · tear · pitch · stock

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. roll — a cake
  3. charge — electricity
  4. stock — shares
  5. rash — hasty
  6. charge — a price
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. pitch — completely
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stock — goods
  13. charge — in control
  14. rash — a series
  15. last — final
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. tear — from crying
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — to rip
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. roll — a list

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