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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: pop · patient · stock · cold · cue · rock · lash · band

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rock — music
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pop — music
  6. band — a ring
  7. pop — soda
  8. cue — a hint
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. band — a music group
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. stock — goods
  13. pop — to visit
  14. rock — a stone
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. stock — shares
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — for pool
  24. rock — to move gently

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