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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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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: stem · bass · march · patient · staff · cell · rock · lash

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. staff — employees
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. march — the month
  7. stem — to come from
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cell — in biology
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. march — music
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. rock — a stone
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. staff — a stick
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. bass — low music
  22. staff — employees
  23. cell — a phone
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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