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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: snap · stem · ball · deal · swing · patient · land · leaves

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. snap — to click
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. ball — a dance
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. land — ground
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ball — a great time
  14. land — a country
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. deal — to handle
  18. land — to come down
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. leaves — to go away

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