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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: march · scale · patient · net · last · stem · tube · hand

  1. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stem — to come from
  3. last — to go on
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. tube — a container
  7. net — in sport
  8. tube — the underground
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. scale — in music
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. march — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. march — the month
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. hand — in cards
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. hand — help
  24. scale — size or range

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