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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: deal · patient · race · cell · stem · pop · bass · nail

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. stem — to come from
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. bass — low music
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pop — soda
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pop — music
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pop — to visit
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — a phone
  17. race — a contest
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — humankind
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. stem — a stem cell

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