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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — to come from
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. land — to come down
  7. field — farmland
  8. lean — to bend
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. land — ground
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. lean — thin
  18. stem — of a plant

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