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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: stick · court · stock · ground · bear · patient · spring · lean

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stock — shares
  3. lean — thin
  4. spring — a coil
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. ground — a position
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bear — the animal
  10. spring — of water
  11. bear — the animal
  12. court — of law
  13. ground — the earth
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. court — for sport
  22. lean — to bend
  23. spring — the season
  24. court — of a king

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