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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 116 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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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: cap · stem · wake · trunk · court · kid · club · patient

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. kid — child
  6. club — for golf
  7. court — for sport
  8. cap — of ice
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. wake — a trail
  11. court — of law
  12. cap — a lid
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. court — of a king
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cap — a hat
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. club — a group
  24. stem — of a plant

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