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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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. clip — for paper
  5. bore — to tire
  6. cap — of ice
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. face — to confront
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bore — to drill
  11. hand — help
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. clip — a video
  16. face — part of the head
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cap — a lid
  19. cap — a hat
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. face — to point toward
  23. stem — to come from
  24. rest — a break

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