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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: shower · track · stem · wind · bat · pitch · hide · patient

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. bat — for baseball
  2. stem — to come from
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. shower — rain
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. track — a song
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a path
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. pitch — completely
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. wind — moving air
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bat — the animal
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. shower — to wash
  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