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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 120 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: hand · lean · last · stem · cap · dip · bore · patient

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. bore — to drill
  3. hand — help
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bore — to tire
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. last — finally
  8. hand — in cards
  9. last — to go on
  10. lean — to bend
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. dip — to sink
  13. lean — thin
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. cap — of ice
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. stem — to come from
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cap — a hat
  21. last — final
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. stem — of a plant

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