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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: mine · patient · stock · lean · suit · wind · clip · tear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. suit — in cards
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. clip — to cut
  8. wind — moving air
  9. stock — shares
  10. wind — moving air
  11. suit — clothes
  12. lean — to bend
  13. lean — thin
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. clip — a video
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stock — goods
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. suit — to fit
  23. mine — for digging
  24. patient — a sick person

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