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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: patient · trunk · stem · mine · mouse · hand · cabinet · wound

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. hand — in cards
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. hand — help
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. stem — to come from
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. wound — an injury
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. mouse — the animal

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