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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. game — wild animals
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. rush — hurry
  17. plane — a tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pass — a permit
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. band — a music group
  23. game — a match
  24. cold — the Cold War

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