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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 124 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. stem — to come from
  3. cold — not warm
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. saw — the tool
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. pit — a hole
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bore — to tire
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pit — in a race
  15. plane — a tool
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. game — a match
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. cold — an illness
  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