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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: patient · shower · chip · pop · stock · mine · nail · spring

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. shower — rain
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — shares
  9. shower — to wash
  10. pop — soda
  11. spring — a coil
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. spring — the season
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — of water
  16. chip — to eat
  17. stock — goods
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — music
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. chip — for betting
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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