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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: lie · stock · racket · season · wax · land · patient · degree

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. degree — an amount
  3. land — to come down
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. season — in sport
  7. land — a country
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. season — of the year
  14. degree — temperature
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. stock — shares
  18. land — ground
  19. degree — from a university
  20. wax — to grow
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. stock — goods
  24. lie — to recline

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