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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: bat · cell · wound · mine · stock · hide · patient · tear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. stock — goods
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stock — shares
  12. bat — the animal
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. tear — to rip
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. tear — from crying
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bat — in an idiom

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