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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 116 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: hand · club · net · press · bear · stock · patient · cabinet

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. press — a publisher
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bear — the animal
  9. club — for golf
  10. stock — shares
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — newspapers
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. net — in sport
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. net — for catching
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. press — to push
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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