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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 · race · craft · bank · pop · court · stock · wax

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. craft — a skill
  3. pop — to visit
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pop — music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. bank — for money
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pop — soda
  10. stock — shares
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. race — humankind
  14. craft — boats
  15. bank — of a river
  16. court — for sport
  17. stock — goods
  18. race — a contest
  19. wax — to grow
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. court — of law
  23. bank — for money
  24. stock — a soup base

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