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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: straw · patient · stick · ball · stem · bat · rash · mug

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mug — a face
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mug — to rob
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. rash — a series
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stem — to come from
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. mug — a cup
  21. rash — hasty
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stem — a stem cell

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