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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: mine · stock · racket · swing · shower · last · patient · kid

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. mine — for digging
  3. shower — rain
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. swing — in golf
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — final
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. last — finally
  16. kid — child
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. shower — to wash
  21. kid — to tease
  22. last — to go on
  23. stock — shares
  24. mine — an explosive

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