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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 120 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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — of law
  4. scale — size or range
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. court — of a king
  12. bat — the animal
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. court — for sport
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wake — a trail
  23. scale — in music
  24. bat — in an idiom

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