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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 116 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: bound · scale · patient · bulb · tear · cabinet · march · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — obliged
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bound — tied together
  5. bulb — for light
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bound — certain
  8. tear — to rip
  9. stock — goods
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. bulb — of a plant

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