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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: patient · nail · stock · pop · hand · mine · file · prune

  1. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — to visit
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. file — a line of people
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pop — music
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hand — help
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — shares
  15. file — a tool
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. file — a document
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. prune — to trim
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. hand — in cards
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. stock — goods

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