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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 nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. snap — to click
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. spring — of water
  5. stem — to come from
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rest — a break
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ball — a great time
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. spring — the season
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spring — a coil
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — what's left
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. ball — a dance
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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