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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  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. patient — calm and waiting
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. track — to keep track
  5. chip — to eat
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. key — the most important part
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. track — a path
  10. track — a song
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. spell — magic
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. key — in music
  16. land — to come down
  17. spell — letters
  18. spell — a short time
  19. stem — to come from
  20. land — ground
  21. key — for a lock
  22. land — a country
  23. chip — for betting
  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