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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  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. last — to go on
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pit — a hole
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. drill — army training
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. last — finally
  9. saw — the tool
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. last — final
  16. wind — moving air
  17. present — a gift
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. drill — the tool
  20. drill — a practice
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wind — to turn a key
  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