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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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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: rock · stand · kid · tear · date · present · stock · patient

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. rock — a stone
  5. date — the fruit
  6. tear — from crying
  7. present — the time now
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. present — a gift
  11. stock — shares
  12. kid — child
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. kid — to tease
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. stand — to bear
  21. tear — to rip
  22. present — there
  23. tear — from crying
  24. rock — music

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