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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: mug · lash · patient · wound · pitcher · court · kid · stock

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. court — of a king
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. mug — a cup
  7. court — of law
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stock — goods
  12. mug — a face
  13. wound — an injury
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — shares
  20. kid — child
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. mug — to rob
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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