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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · stock · wax · pitcher · hand · game · patient · rock

  1. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. land — ground
  3. hand — in cards
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. land — to come down
  6. game — a match
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wax — to grow
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stock — goods
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — help
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. stock — shares
  24. rock — music

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