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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: bound · race · patient · season · stock · roll · prune · hand

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. roll — a cake
  3. race — a contest
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. roll — a list
  9. prune — to trim
  10. hand — in cards
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stock — goods
  15. bound — certain
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bound — tied together
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bound — obliged
  21. race — humankind
  22. hand — help
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — in sport

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