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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: ground · stock · cap · patient · last · fine · lash · bat

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. cap — a lid
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fine — high quality
  15. ground — a position
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stock — goods
  21. cap — a hat
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — the earth
  24. fine — all right

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