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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 120 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: stem · stock · nail · chest · patient · racket · pitcher · capital

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. chest — of your body
  6. capital — a city
  7. chest — a box
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stem — to come from
  13. capital — money
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. racket — for tennis

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