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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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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. court — of law
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. court — of a king
  5. row — to paddle
  6. spell — magic
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. court — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. spell — a short time
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. bulb — for light
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bulb — for light
  20. stem — to come from
  21. row — a line
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — from a university
  24. spell — letters

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