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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: clip · stock · patient · lean · cabinet · mark · spring · ground

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. stock — goods
  3. ground — crushed
  4. spring — the season
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. lean — thin
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. clip — for paper
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. ground — the earth
  14. ground — a position
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. clip — a video
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — to bend
  22. spring — of water
  23. stock — shares
  24. cabinet — ministers

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