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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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. net — for catching
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. kid — to tease
  13. net — in sport
  14. race — humankind
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stock — shares
  19. net — after costs
  20. stock — goods
  21. kid — child
  22. stem — to come from
  23. toast — bread
  24. race — a contest

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