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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.

Make a worksheet

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: patient · cabinet · shower · roll · net · stock · staff · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — to wash
  5. staff — a stick
  6. net — in sport
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. roll — a list
  9. staff — employees
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. roll — a cake
  12. net — after costs
  13. stock — goods
  14. net — for catching
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. stock — shares
  19. staff — employees
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — rain
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. shower — a meteor shower

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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