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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. field — a subject
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. game — a match
  7. fall — the season
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. plane — a tool
  12. stand — to bear
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. game — wild animals
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. field — farmland
  20. date — the fruit
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. fall — to drop
  23. stem — to come from
  24. field — for sport

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