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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. season — of the year
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — a practice
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. sharp — clever
  12. ball — a dance
  13. drill — the tool
  14. season — in sport
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. foot — a measure
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. drill — army training
  23. season — to add flavour
  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