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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. prune — to trim
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. chest — a box
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. prune — to trim
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. chest — of your body
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pass — a permit
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. lie — to recline

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