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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: ground · hand · pass · file · patient · sharp · capital · stock

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. hand — in cards
  5. hand — help
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. ground — the earth
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stock — goods
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. file — a tool
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. capital — money
  14. ground — crushed
  15. ground — a position
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. file — a document
  20. stock — shares
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. capital — a city
  24. sharp — clever

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