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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: spring · rock · march · chest · rest · patient · stock · arm

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. march — music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. chest — of your body
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. stock — shares
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. rest — a break
  11. chest — a box
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — of your body
  14. spring — of water
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — the season
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rock — a stone
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. march — the month

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