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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. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — a tight spot
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. chest — a box
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. season — of the year
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stem — to come from
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. season — in sport
  14. field — farmland
  15. game — wild animals
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. game — a match
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a line of people
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. field — a subject
  23. file — a tool
  24. file — a document

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