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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: cabinet · tear · firm · cold · patient · pitcher · tube · stock

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. tube — a container
  10. tear — to rip
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. firm — a company
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. stock — goods
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. tube — the underground
  20. tear — from crying
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. stock — shares
  23. firm — steady
  24. firm — decided

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