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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 120 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: spell · stock · chest · patient · wax · bat · net · staff

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. spell — magic
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. stock — goods
  6. chest — of your body
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. wax — to grow
  10. net — for catching
  11. staff — employees
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. bat — the animal
  14. stock — shares
  15. spell — a short time
  16. staff — employees
  17. net — after costs
  18. chest — of your body
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. staff — a stick
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. spell — letters
  23. chest — a box
  24. patient — a sick person

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