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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. ground — the earth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. ground — a position
  5. lean — thin
  6. court — of law
  7. stem — to come from
  8. bound — tied together
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. court — of a king
  11. ground — crushed
  12. lean — to bend
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bound — certain
  16. chest — of your body
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tube — the underground
  19. court — for sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — a box
  24. bound — obliged

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