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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 116 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: leaves · patient · stand · mark · land · bat · cell · tear

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. mark — a grade
  3. land — to come down
  4. cell — in biology
  5. mark — a trace
  6. tear — from crying
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — ground
  13. bat — the animal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. land — a country
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. patient — a sick person

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