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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. key — the most important part
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. key — in music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. cold — an illness
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. march — the month
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — music
  14. squash — to crush
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cold — not warm
  17. snap — to click
  18. squash — the sport
  19. march — the month
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. key — for a lock
  24. nail — for a hammer

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