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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: patient · stock · sharp · fall · pound · kid · press · court

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fall — to drop
  5. sharp — clever
  6. fall — the season
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — to tease
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. court — of law
  13. press — newspapers
  14. press — to push
  15. stock — goods
  16. court — of a king
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. pound — a weight
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. press — a publisher
  21. kid — child
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. court — for sport
  24. stock — shares

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