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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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Word bank
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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: charge · stem · swing · patient · tear · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. tear — from crying
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. swing — in golf
  5. tear — from crying
  6. swing — music
  7. stem — to come from
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. charge — a price
  10. swing — to play on
  11. charge — in control
  12. tear — to rip
  13. net — for catching
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. net — in sport
  17. charge — electricity
  18. patient — a sick person

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