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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · stem · patient · kid · cap · race

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. race — a contest
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a lid
  9. kid — child
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — to tease
  13. race — the arms race
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — a hat
  16. race — humankind
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. bat — the animal

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