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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. chest — of your body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. chest — a box
  15. board — to get on
  16. rush — hurry
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stem — to come from
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. deal — to handle
  23. fork — in a road
  24. fork — a garden tool

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