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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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stem — to come from
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. sharp — clever
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. band — a music group
  11. track — to keep track
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. track — a song
  14. field — farmland
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. band — a ring
  17. track — a path
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. patient — a sick person

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