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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 120 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 · chest · perch · tube · stem · court · cell · deal

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — of law
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — to handle
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stem — to come from
  12. perch — the fish
  13. cell — a phone
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. court — for sport
  18. cell — in biology
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tube — a container
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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