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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. plane — a tool
  4. net — after costs
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. net — in sport
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. charge — electricity
  16. charge — a price
  17. bat — the animal
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. pass — a permit
  23. charge — in control
  24. net — for catching

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