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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. tear — to rip
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stock — goods
  10. roll — a cake
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. clip — a video
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. roll — a list
  19. perch — the fish
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. clip — to cut
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. clip — for paper
  24. tear — from crying

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