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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. spring — a coil
  4. tear — from crying
  5. chest — a box
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. tear — from crying
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. spring — of water
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rule — government
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. tear — to rip
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — to trim
  21. spring — the season
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. chest — of your body

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