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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. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  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. leaves — lets stay
  2. net — after costs
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stem — to come from
  9. hand — help
  10. net — for catching
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. toast — bread
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. net — in sport
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stem — of a plant
  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