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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pass — a permit
  8. band — a music group
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pop — soda
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. stem — to come from
  13. last — to go on
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. band — a ring
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. pop — music
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. pop — to visit
  24. stem — of a plant

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