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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: pitcher · foot · fine · last · patient · stem · fall · kid

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. fall — the season
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. fine — all right
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. last — finally
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. kid — child
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. last — to go on
  16. foot — a measure
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. last — final
  21. fine — high quality
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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