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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. object — to protest
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. object — a thing
  14. cold — not warm
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. sharp — clever
  17. cold — an illness
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. snap — to click
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. cold — the Cold War

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