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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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468
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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. field — a subject
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stem — to come from
  6. kick — in football
  7. game — a match
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — the fish
  13. chair — a leader
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. field — for sport
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. field — farmland
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. bass — low music
  23. scale — in music
  24. stem — a stem cell

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