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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: object · staff · cold · sharp · wake · prune · patient · stock

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. prune — to trim
  3. object — to protest
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. object — a thing
  7. prune — to trim
  8. staff — employees
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cold — not warm
  12. sharp — clever
  13. stock — shares
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. staff — employees
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. cold — an illness
  23. staff — a stick
  24. stock — goods

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