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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — finally
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. field — farmland
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. field — a subject
  7. stem — to come from
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. stand — to bear
  16. content — happy
  17. rush — hurry
  18. kick — in football
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. ball — a great time
  22. content — the amount
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. stand — on your feet

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