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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: march · pound · face · patient · object · spring · cell · stock

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. march — the month
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. pound — a weight
  5. spring — of water
  6. object — to protest
  7. face — to confront
  8. spring — a coil
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cell — in biology
  12. stock — goods
  13. cell — a phone
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. spring — the season
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. march — the month
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. face — to point toward
  21. march — music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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