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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.

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: patient · leaves · prune · field · stem · cell · saw · plane

  1. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  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. leaves — to go away
  2. cell — a phone
  3. field — farmland
  4. stem — to come from
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. saw — the tool
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. plane — a tool
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. saw — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. prune — to trim
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — for sport
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cell — in biology
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. patient — a sick person
  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