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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — to come down
  3. field — a subject
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. bore — to drill
  10. net — in sport
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. net — after costs
  17. land — ground
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wind — moving air
  20. field — farmland
  21. bore — to tire
  22. dip — to sink
  23. stem — to come from
  24. land — a country

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