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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: stem · rest · ball · land · patient · rush · saw · content

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stem — to come from
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. ball — a great time
  12. land — a country
  13. saw — the tool
  14. land — ground
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rush — hurry
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. content — happy
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. rest — a break
  21. content — the amount
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. land — to come down

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