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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 · bank · scale · squash · tear · cabinet · stock · shower

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stock — shares
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. shower — to wash
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. bank — for money
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bank — of a river
  13. scale — size or range
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. scale — in music
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bank — for money
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. squash — the sport
  24. stock — goods

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