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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 116 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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. field — farmland
  3. mate — a friend
  4. stem — to come from
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. can — to be able to
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. field — for sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. mate — a partner
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. mate — to breed
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. field — a subject
  18. pound — for dogs

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