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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stem — to come from
  8. spring — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. swing — to play on
  12. rash — a series
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. field — farmland
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. spring — of water
  18. field — for sport
  19. fall — the season
  20. band — a ring
  21. rash — hasty
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. fall — to drop
  24. safe — a strongbox

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