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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: spring · mouse · stem · plane · patient · kid · land · straw

  1. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — a tool
  2. land — to come down
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. kid — child
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. spring — of water
  10. land — ground
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. spring — the season
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — to tease

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