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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. file — a line of people
  3. wake — a trail
  4. land — to come down
  5. stem — to come from
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. bass — low music
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. land — a country
  15. sharp — clever
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. file — a document
  18. land — ground
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stem — of a plant

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