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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: land · mine · stand · patient · saw · cue · stem · rush

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — to come down
  5. cue — a hint
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cue — for pool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. saw — the tool
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — hurry
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — to come from
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — a country

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