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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: tear · patient · chest · bound · squash · spring · stem · cabinet

  1. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. squash — the sport
  3. spring — a coil
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bound — certain
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. stem — to come from
  11. bound — obliged
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. spring — of water
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bound — tied together
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. chest — of your body
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. spring — the season
  20. chest — a box
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. tear — from crying
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. tear — from crying

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