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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 · ball · deal · capital · wound · fan · stock · bark

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. wound — an injury
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stock — goods
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. ball — a dance
  12. bark — to shout
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. ball — a great time
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. capital — a city
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. capital — money
  21. stock — shares
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. capital — a big letter

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