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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. stem — to come from
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. last — final
  5. squash — the sport
  6. last — finally
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. bank — for money
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. last — to go on
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. squash — to crush
  13. tear — from crying
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bank — of a river
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. board — to get on
  18. pass — a permit
  19. bank — for money
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. pass — to succeed

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