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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: patient · roll · row · wake · clip · calf · pitcher · stem

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. clip — a video
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. clip — to cut
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. row — a line
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. roll — a list
  16. clip — for paper
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. row — to paddle
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. roll — a cake
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. roll — on a roll

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