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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 · pitcher · date · stock · net · straw · patient · fall

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. stock — goods
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — for digging
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. fall — the season
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. fall — to drop
  17. net — in sport
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. net — for catching
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. net — after costs
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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