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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. stem — to come from
  4. pass — a permit
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. bore — to drill
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bore — to tire
  15. row — to paddle
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. row — a line
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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