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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 · rush · kick · tear · lean · bat · fall

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — the season
  6. lean — to bend
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. stock — goods
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — shares
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rush — hurry
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. tear — from crying
  24. lean — thin

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