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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: arm · mark · patient · court · tube · season · stock · row

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. season — in sport
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. court — of law
  8. stock — goods
  9. row — a line
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stock — shares
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. row — to paddle
  14. mark — a grade
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. court — of a king
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. tube — a container
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mark — a trace
  23. court — for sport
  24. patient — a sick person

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