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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. cold — an illness
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bank — for money
  6. cold — not warm
  7. club — for golf
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bound — obliged
  10. bound — tied together
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. club — a group
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. bank — of a river
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bound — certain
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. club — for dancing
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. bank — for money

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