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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — a subject
  3. cap — of ice
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cap — a lid
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. cap — a hat
  9. field — for sport
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. field — farmland
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bound — certain
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. bound — obliged
  21. season — in sport
  22. dip — to sink
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bound — tied together

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