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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 · spring · root · present · cell · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. present — the time now
  5. cell — a phone
  6. root — the cause
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. present — a gift
  11. toast — bread
  12. present — there
  13. root — of a plant
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. root — of a word
  17. cell — in biology
  18. spring — a coil

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