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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 · wound · mate · kick · pitcher · sharp · straw · stem

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stem — to come from
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — a friend
  9. mate — to breed
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. wound — an injury
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — in football
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. sharp — clever

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