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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. mug — a face
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. mine — for digging
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. squash — the sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. file — a tool
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. branch — a division
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. squash — to crush
  15. rash — hasty
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — a series
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. file — a line of people
  21. mug — to rob
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. mug — a cup
  24. patient — a sick person

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