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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 · toast · cap · cold · bowl · stem

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — not warm
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. toast — bread
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cap — a hat
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. stem — to come from
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bowl — a football final

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