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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 116 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. staff — a stick
  3. staff — employees
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. can — a tin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. field — for sport
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. field — farmland
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. can — a tin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — completely
  21. staff — employees
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. can — to be able to
  24. cold — an illness

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