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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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. land — a country
  6. land — ground
  7. staff — a stick
  8. spring — of water
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. spring — the season
  11. staff — employees
  12. spring — a coil
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. firm — a company
  19. firm — decided
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. land — to come down
  22. stem — to come from
  23. firm — steady
  24. stem — a stem cell

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