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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 · hide · roll · hand · sharp · stock · season · march

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. hand — help
  3. sharp — clever
  4. march — music
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. season — of the year
  7. stock — goods
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. roll — a list
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. roll — a cake
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. stock — shares
  23. hand — in cards
  24. sharp — with an edge

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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