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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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — to rip
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. club — for dancing
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — to come from
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. club — a group
  12. spring — the season
  13. tear — from crying
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wind — moving air
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. club — for golf
  22. spring — a coil
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stem — of a plant

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