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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: stock · chair · hand · cold · patient · rest · ground · coach

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. cold — not warm
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — crushed
  11. stock — goods
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ground — the earth
  15. stock — shares
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. hand — in cards
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rest — a break
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chair — a leader

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