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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: patient · straw · spring · mine · stem · chest · toast · stand

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. mine — for digging
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. toast — bread
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. spring — the season
  13. stand — to bear
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. stem — to come from
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. spring — a coil
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. spring — of water
  24. stand — for spectators

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