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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: content · patient · spring · season · stock · pound · can · date

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. Recycle the empty soda ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. season — of the year
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. can — a tin
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. content — happy
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. pound — a weight
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spring — the season
  16. can — to be able to
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — goods
  19. content — the amount
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. season — in sport
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. can — a tin

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