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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. staff — employees
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. row — a line
  9. net — after costs
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. net — in sport
  13. staff — employees
  14. stem — to come from
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. staff — a stick
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. net — for catching
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. row — to paddle
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. mine — for digging

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