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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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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: stem · patient · can · tear · bowl · cell · wake · ground

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. wake — a trail
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. can — a tin
  6. cell — a phone
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. cell — in biology
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ground — the earth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tear — to rip
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. can — to be able to
  19. ground — crushed
  20. stem — to come from
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. ground — a position
  24. can — a tin

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