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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: hide · net · stock · chest · hand · race · patient · mug

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. net — after costs
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. race — humankind
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mug — a cup
  10. chest — a box
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. race — a contest
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. race — the arms race
  18. net — for catching
  19. chest — of your body
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. hand — help
  22. mug — to rob
  23. mug — a face
  24. patient — a sick person

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