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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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. cell — a phone
  3. cell — in biology
  4. content — happy
  5. content — the amount
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rule — government
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — for sport
  10. spring — a coil
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. spring — of water
  14. stem — to come from
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. fine — high quality
  18. field — farmland
  19. rule — a law
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. spring — the season
  24. fine — all right

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