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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: toast · stock · arm · plane · cold · pop · kick · patient

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. cold — not warm
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. stock — goods
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. pop — soda
  10. toast — bread
  11. pop — to visit
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. plane — a tool
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. kick — in football
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. pop — music
  22. stock — shares
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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