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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.

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: stem · toast · drill · patient · bowl · stock · chest · land

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. drill — army training
  4. toast — bread
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stock — shares
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — goods
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. chest — a box
  19. land — to come down
  20. land — a country
  21. chest — of your body
  22. land — ground
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. drill — a practice

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