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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: stock · club · sharp · stem · pit · hand · toast · patient

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. pit — in a race
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — to come from
  9. pit — a hole
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — bread
  14. hand — help
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stock — goods
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. club — for dancing
  23. stock — shares
  24. stem — of a plant

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