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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 · stock · content · trunk · pitcher · sharp · roll · fall

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — shares
  3. roll — a cake
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. sharp — clever
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fall — to drop
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. content — the amount
  19. fall — the season
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. stock — goods
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. roll — a list
  24. fall — to drop

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