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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rush — hurry
  3. land — to come down
  4. bulb — for light
  5. stem — to come from
  6. field — for sport
  7. mate — to breed
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — a subject
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rest — a break
  14. field — farmland
  15. rash — a series
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. mate — a friend
  21. land — ground
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. rash — hasty
  24. land — a country

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