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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  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 — a stem cell
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. stem — to come from
  7. ground — crushed
  8. prune — to trim
  9. clip — for paper
  10. staff — employees
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. season — in sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. sharp — clever
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. season — of the year
  18. staff — a stick
  19. clip — a video
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. clip — to cut
  22. ground — the earth
  23. staff — employees
  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