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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. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stand — to bear
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. board — a committee
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. board — to get on
  10. field — for sport
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. saw — the tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. file — a document
  24. field — farmland

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