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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stem — to come from
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. squash — the sport
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cap — a lid
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. mine — for digging
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. straw — a straw man

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