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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: snap · straw · patient · cell · stem · sharp · march · cap

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. sharp — clever
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. cap — a hat
  11. cell — in biology
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. cap — of ice
  17. march — music
  18. stem — to come from
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — a lid
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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