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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rest — a break
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — rain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. stem — to come from
  16. key — in music
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. stem — of a plant

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