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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.

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: patient · stock · wound · ball · rest · press · mine · cap

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. ball — a dance
  5. stock — goods
  6. press — to push
  7. rest — what's left
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. cap — a hat
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rest — a break
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — for digging
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. press — newspapers
  21. press — a publisher
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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