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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: rash · mine · stem · pop · nail · bass · patient · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pop — soda
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. pop — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. mate — to breed
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stem — to come from
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rash — a series
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rash — hasty

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