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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
468
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: patient · degree · drill · chest · stock · craft · bound · pound

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bound — certain
  3. stock — goods
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. degree — temperature
  6. bound — obliged
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. craft — a skill
  9. pound — a weight
  10. craft — boats
  11. drill — the tool
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — shares
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. drill — a practice
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. degree — an amount
  22. degree — from a university
  23. drill — army training
  24. bound — tied together

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