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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 · pitch · mine · patient · snap · stem · field · temple

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. snap — to click
  5. field — farmland
  6. mine — for digging
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. field — for sport
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stem — to come from
  14. field — a subject
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. race — a contest
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. race — humankind
  21. race — the arms race
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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