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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 · season · spring · content · patient · wax · snap · land

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. land — a country
  5. land — to come down
  6. season — of the year
  7. stock — goods
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. content — happy
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spring — the season
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. stock — shares
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. season — in sport
  20. spring — a coil
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. content — the amount
  23. land — ground
  24. spring — of water

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