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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 birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — of a plant
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. current — happening now
  6. field — farmland
  7. squash — the sport
  8. rash — hasty
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitch — completely
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. squash — to crush
  19. perch — the fish
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. rash — a series
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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