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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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — to come from
  3. spell — letters
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. mine — for digging
  8. press — a publisher
  9. press — to push
  10. fine — all right
  11. press — newspapers
  12. perch — the fish
  13. spell — a short time
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. spell — magic
  16. field — a subject
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fine — high quality
  20. field — farmland
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. field — for sport
  24. mine — an explosive

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