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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: rock · hand · stock · clip · bulb · lean · rest · patient

  1. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. clip — for paper
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. hand — help
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. rock — music
  8. stock — shares
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stock — goods
  13. clip — a video
  14. rest — what's left
  15. clip — to cut
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rest — a break
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. lean — thin
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. rock — a stone
  22. hand — in cards
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stock — a soup base

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