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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.

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 · stem · clip · object · bark · ball · chest · bore

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at 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. stem — a stem cell
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. object — to protest
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. object — a thing
  7. ball — a great time
  8. bore — to tire
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. ball — a dance
  11. chest — of your body
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. clip — for paper
  14. object — an aim
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. chest — of your body
  17. clip — a video
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. chest — a box
  20. bore — to drill
  21. stem — to come from
  22. clip — to cut
  23. stem — of a plant
  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