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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: rash · mine · stock · prune · hand · patient · bay · scale

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. rash — a series
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. stock — shares
  6. hand — in cards
  7. scale — size or range
  8. hand — help
  9. stock — goods
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. prune — to trim
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mine — for digging
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. scale — in music
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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