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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 124 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. season — of the year
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. last — final
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — in sport
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. vault — a safe
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. staff — employees
  14. staff — employees
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. sharp — clever
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stem — to come from
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. staff — a stick
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. perch — the fish

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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