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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: race · hand · stem · kid · rest · march · bore · patient

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. rest — a break
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stem — to come from
  8. race — humankind
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. march — the month
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — to tease
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. march — the month
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bore — to drill
  22. kid — child
  23. march — music
  24. rest — what's left

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