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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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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: cold · foot · fan · patient · stem · kid · stick · vault

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  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. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. cold — an illness
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. foot — a measure
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. cold — not warm
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. kid — to tease
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. stem — to come from
  23. kid — child
  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