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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 120 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: court · temple · patient · stock · straw · bat · present · cell

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stock — goods
  4. present — a gift
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. present — there
  8. court — for sport
  9. present — the time now
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — in biology
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — shares
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. court — of a king
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. court — of law
  24. straw — a straw man

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