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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. prune — to trim
  4. craft — a skill
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — a subject
  7. cap — a hat
  8. craft — boats
  9. cap — a lid
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. bulb — for light
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. prune — to trim
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. field — for sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bulb — for light
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. field — farmland
  24. stem — of a plant

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