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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 116 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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. land — ground
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a dance
  6. land — a country
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. pit — a hole
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. march — music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. land — to come down
  20. ball — a great time
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — the month
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. lash — to lash out

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