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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. bank — for money
  3. field — farmland
  4. content — happy
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — for sport
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. content — the amount
  9. last — finally
  10. field — a subject
  11. stem — to come from
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. mark — a grade
  14. last — to go on
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — to rip
  17. march — the month
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bank — of a river
  22. bank — for money
  23. march — music
  24. last — final

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