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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. rule — government
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. shower — to wash
  5. cell — a phone
  6. season — of the year
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. pop — soda
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. pop — to visit
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. rule — a law
  18. cell — in biology
  19. season — in sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. stem — to come from
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. pop — music

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