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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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. band — a music group
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. drill — army training
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. drill — a practice
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. spring — a coil
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. band — a ring
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mate — a friend
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. chair — a leader
  18. spring — of water
  19. stem — to come from
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. mate — a partner
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. patient — a sick person

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