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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. field — farmland
  4. net — in sport
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. field — a subject
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stem — to come from
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. net — for catching
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — to drill
  23. net — after costs
  24. bore — gave birth

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