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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. rush — hurry
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. stem — to come from
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kid — child
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. root — of a word
  20. field — farmland
  21. root — the cause
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. root — of a plant

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