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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — an amount
  4. row — to paddle
  5. field — a subject
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. row — a line
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. clip — to cut
  14. degree — temperature
  15. bore — to tire
  16. stem — to come from
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. net — after costs
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — to drill
  24. degree — from a university

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