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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 · ground · patient · shower · march · vault · present · spring

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. march — the month
  3. present — there
  4. stock — goods
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. ground — a position
  7. march — the month
  8. shower — rain
  9. ground — the earth
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. spring — of water
  14. vault — a safe
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. spring — a coil
  21. march — music
  22. spring — the season
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. stock — shares

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