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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bulb · lash · patient · root · cell · pitcher · clip · plane

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bulb — for light
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. bulb — for light
  11. clip — a video
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. cell — a phone
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. clip — for paper
  22. cell — in biology
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. plane — a tool

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