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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. hand — in cards
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. hand — help
  7. field — for sport
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. field — farmland
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stem — to come from
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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