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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: mine · patient · tear · plane · staff · sharp · root · hand

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. staff — a stick
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. hand — help
  8. mine — for digging
  9. hand — in cards
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. root — of a plant
  13. tear — to rip
  14. plane — a tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. root — the cause
  17. tear — from crying
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. root — of a word
  22. staff — employees
  23. sharp — clever
  24. patient — a sick person

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