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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. degree — an amount
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stem — to come from
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. plane — a tool
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. degree — from a university
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. degree — temperature
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. wound — an injury
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wake — a trail

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