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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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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 · patient · tube · chest · race · land · stem · mug

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. stem — to come from
  3. mug — a cup
  4. race — a contest
  5. land — to come down
  6. chest — of your body
  7. spring — a coil
  8. land — a country
  9. mug — to rob
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mug — a face
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. chest — a box
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. race — the arms race
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. race — humankind
  20. tube — a container
  21. spring — of water
  22. land — ground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. spring — the season

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