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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 · temple · pitcher · stem · net · cold · mate · vault

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. vault — a safe
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. mate — a friend
  11. net — in sport
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. mate — to breed
  14. net — after costs
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. net — for catching
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — not warm

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