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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: patient · fall · track · game · stock · sharp · cell · charge

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. track — to keep track
  7. game — wild animals
  8. sharp — clever
  9. charge — a price
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fall — to drop
  13. track — a song
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. track — a path
  16. cell — a phone
  17. charge — electricity
  18. cell — in biology
  19. stock — goods
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. charge — in control
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. game — a match

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