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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 120 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 · patient · staff · race · cold · present · tear · lie

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. race — humankind
  4. staff — employees
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. present — a gift
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tear — to rip
  9. race — the arms race
  10. present — there
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. staff — a stick
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — an illness
  18. race — a contest
  19. present — the time now
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cold — not warm
  22. staff — employees
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. stem — to come from

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