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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 116 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — finally
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stem — to come from
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. last — to go on
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. last — final
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — money
  22. drill — a practice
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. drill — army training

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