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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. snap — to click
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. fine — high quality
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wound — an injury
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. field — for sport
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. field — a subject
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rush — hurry
  16. fine — all right
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. field — farmland
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stem — to come from
  23. lie — to recline
  24. stem — 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