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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 · trunk · mate · straw · roll · rush · stock · chest

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  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. mate — a friend
  2. stock — shares
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mate — a partner
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rush — hurry
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. chest — of your body
  12. roll — a list
  13. chest — a box
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. roll — a cake
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stock — goods
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. mate — to breed
  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