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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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. chair — a leader
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. wake — a trail
  9. row — a line
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. spring — of water
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. spring — a coil
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. season — of the year
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — in sport
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. nail — for a hammer

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