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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: stock · cell · tear · bass · patient · swing · bat · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — low music
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. tear — from crying
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — to rip
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. cell — in biology
  22. stock — shares
  23. cell — a phone
  24. bat — the animal

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