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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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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: clip · stem · patient · last · nail · stick · bat · kid

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stem — to come from
  8. clip — a video
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. bat — the animal
  13. last — final
  14. clip — for paper
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — child
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. kid — to tease
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. last — to go on

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