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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 the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. row — a line
  7. cell — in biology
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — to trim
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. row — to paddle
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. hide — animal skin

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