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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: patient · dip · can · sharp · cold · stock · mine · perch

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. stock — shares
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. can — to be able to
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. sharp — clever
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. can — a tin
  13. cold — not warm
  14. mine — for digging
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — goods
  17. dip — to sink
  18. perch — the fish
  19. can — a tin
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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