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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: stock · jam · bank · patient · coach · bark · cold · court

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bank — of a river
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. court — of law
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cold — an illness
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. bank — for money
  11. court — for sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. stock — goods
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. stock — shares
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cold — not warm
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. bark — to shout
  22. court — of a king
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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