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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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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: face · content · season · land · prune · patient · bound · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. land — to come down
  4. season — of the year
  5. bound — obliged
  6. land — ground
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. land — a country
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. season — in sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — shares
  15. bound — tied together
  16. face — part of the head
  17. content — happy
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. bound — certain
  20. content — the amount
  21. face — to point toward
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. face — to confront

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