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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  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. stem — to come from
  2. cue — a signal
  3. cue — a hint
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. present — there
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. cue — for pool
  11. clip — for paper
  12. present — the time now
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. clip — a video
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. ground — the earth
  21. present — a gift
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bowl — a dish
  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