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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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. cap — of ice
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. cap — a lid
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. rash — a series
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. roll — a cake
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cap — a hat
  15. file — a document
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. rash — hasty
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. field — a subject
  20. field — farmland
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. field — for sport
  24. roll — a list

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