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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. stem — to come from
  3. bat — the animal
  4. charge — a price
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. charge — electricity
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bound — obliged
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. bound — tied together
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bound — certain
  17. hand — in cards
  18. charge — in control
  19. cap — a lid
  20. cap — of ice
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hand — help
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bat — in an idiom

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