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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: stem · kid · land · fork · row · patient · pit · bulb

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. land — a country
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pit — in a race
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. row — a line
  9. stem — to come from
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. bulb — for light
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. land — ground
  19. fork — in a road
  20. kid — child
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. bulb — for light
  23. kid — to tease
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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