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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 · stock · fan · rule · hand · chest · bowl · board

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. board — a committee
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. hand — in cards
  17. rule — a law
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. board — to get on
  23. rule — government
  24. patient — a sick person

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