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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: patient · wake · stem · pound · date · race

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. 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. patient — a sick person
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. race — a contest
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pound — a weight
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. race — humankind
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stem — to come from
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. wake — a trail
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. date — the fruit
  18. 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