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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. rash — hasty
  3. field — for sport
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. stem — to come from
  10. pit — in a race
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. field — a subject
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pit — a hole

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